sentimental style

Postcards from Malaysia: Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Started the day bright and early with a bus ride going to Melaka/Malacca. Cloud trance all throughout.

Arrived around Lunchtime. Gong Xi Fa Cai decors dominated the streets, of course!

We had lunch at the oldest building on the Sino-Chinese wing of the Heritage area.

My meal: sticky rice balls and hainanese-style chicken. With a bowl of creamy cendol (it's like Halo-halo) for dessert. Ranie had eel, souped up. Pretty good. Super, even. I'm starting at these rice balls now and wondering where I can find these here in Manila...

Observing the rituals inside a Buddhist temple.

Then we crossed over to the bridge and reached the 24 or so museums featuring dioramas and artifacts of Melaka's Portuguese heritage. We only got to explore about three of them because by 5pm, my legs were giving out on me.

The big water wheel by the river

Tourist-trap Becas, but they're OK as rawr-face backdrop.

A police station. Why do gov't buildings look wonderfully stuck in a time warp here?

Don't tell my mom and officemates, but we found yummy donuts with witty names in one of the malls (John Lemon, anyone?). I find them like a K9 dog sniffs out bombs ^_^

Melaka, in Ranie's words, is like the Vigan of our country - a city of streets and facades that remain as testaments of Malaysia's colonial and trading history. If it weren't so far from KL, I would've loved to stay longer. Here was also where I found my favorite buys, such as little wooden trinkets for my bedroom wall and tiny instruments for my brothers.

Postcards from Malaysia - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:11:00 +0000

Travelling alone, like a big girl.

What greeted me at the arrival area. Best in simple but benta gestures. :)

Our very first stop: Batu Caves, relatively near where Ranie stays now.

Visiting card weather.

Pausing for breath in the middle of climbing what I'm sure is more than a hundred-feet set of stairs.

A big, yawning cave with many temples inside.

When you look up and see this, you'd feel like thanking a Creator too - whatever your faith.

Took the train to KLCC to meet up with a fellow vacationing couple: Cameron and our college batchmate Rachel.

Obligatory shot with the Petronas Towers. Pretty amazing to have to stretch your neck so far back to take in their glory. Also saw them lit up at night the following day.

The Sultan Abdul Samad building with a backdrop of decidedly more modern commercial towers.

We went to the Central Market where all the accessories, batik, and carved oddities one could ever want are found. But there were hip, art-inspired stores too.

Evening coffee and dessert while perusing Malay fashion magazines at a coffeehouse. And coming up with some "art."

So that was my day 1 in a few snaps. My general first impression of KL is that the modern and the traditional just seems to mix naturally (oriental identity crisis similar to our country's predicament). And the train system is so convenient. And most of the people we met are polite and friendly. It was a sun-filled four days of walking around and taking in as much sights (and pasalubong-buying on my end) as possible. It actually felt just like a relaxed weekend back home - of course that's probably mostly because of who I was with.

Like An Old Movie

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:06:00 +0000

Thrifted lace dress | Primadonna boots | Hat from Los Banos

A closer look at one of the sets we shot months ago in Batangas, for an old assignment. When I picked out this dress at a thrift store, I found it too frilly for my taste but it seemed to be of really great quality, so I though, what the heck, I'll sell it. But now I'm changing my mind because I've been looking at a lot of asian/gyaru/Liz Lisa photos... I don't know why either. Actually it's because I was reading Malaysian fashion blogs for a while. Don't worry I won't be "transforming" - it's just an idea project.

It's been four days since I got back home from KL and Singapore, and I have had no rest or decent sleep yet, as it's been school and work in full force (but I'm not complaining, I'm so thankful for everything that happened this week). I've posted a lot of pictures on facebook (drag and drop) but blog posts will have to wait - I'll be indulging in rest and planning / me time today. See you in my weekend posts!

Sunbathing at 7PM

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Testing the flood lights for my Sunday shoot. Don't worry it's just for a little midterm project.

Dots, Picasso, Skylines, Oddities, Books, and a Lot of Pink

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:26:00 +0000

I'm surfacing for air now as I give you this series of accumulated outfits over the past two weeks! I was on blog-fast (as is an annual tradition) and also up to my neck with stuff (in my lame attempt to dismiss everything as trivial - far from it). I'm ending my stint with the best show on earth (huhu but I need to commit the remaining months to school and my plans - anyway, there's still web and I'm just believing that things will work out) - someday I'll come around to sharing all the BTS photos that Kevin has painstakingly taken to shooting all season. Midterm projects and papers happening! All at once! Last night I slept it off - ended up working faster today. Such is the state of my Saturday. Some moments the despair gets to me pretty bad. But two things run across me head 1) Excellence is an act of worship 2) There is no situation that God cannot make possible or insanely wonderful. You just have to trust him to take care of everything!

Only five more days of panicking / getting everything splendidly done - and then I'm off the KL! Cannot. Wait.

Color Club

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 07:30:00 +0000

Editorials:

10 Crosby by Derek Lam | Noah by Anouk Nitsche | Louis Vuitton's Spring Summer 2012 Campaign

(images from fashiongonerogue, the fashion spot, and style.com)

Snaps:

Gave away colorful candy | Relived childhood days with my siblings and cousins | Wore colored tights with orange shoes | Cleaned out and Pinked out the bedroom | Threw some of our books into a massive plastic box and slid it under the pinked out bed

2012, please be colorful with my heart.

(yuck that was lame - sorry!)

Made It Happen: 2011 in some words and photos

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 06:15:00 +0000

At the beginning of this year, I posted this quirky collage on this blog.

I had started 2011 in a state of unbelievable FAITH. I had claimed to seize all opportunities, step up, and finally do the goals (material and otherwise) that I had been putting off. (Wow, big words) :) But I was really in that mood, that "take charge" stance. I was so inip and excited and I wanted be somewhere else on so many levels. So I put up that big goal list in my head and braced myself for 2011! My tag line was: "Make it happen this 2011." (I have a penchant for making crazy handles)

Ok so I know that you're dying to find out what somethin' somethin's I did manage to make happen (hehe joke lang). Actually this is more for my own affirmation - and also as a personal testament that wecandothis, that anything is possible, and that that GOD has only the biggest and best plans for us. :)

Buy

-A Canon G12. Or an Olympus Pen (because a decent camera is loooong overdue)

-A secondhand car (!!!)

-A nice set of headphones

So, yeah, I don't know what happened with the car. :) But this goal still comes with me next year! I'm thankful for the provision God has given me - I have what I need for now. :)

-To Boracay (never been there!) or to Camsur with my family

-To Hong Kong with my family

Because of general busy-ness and incompatibility of schedules, my family and I had only one itsy-bitsy "out of town" this year to Laiya. BUT I still got to do some more beachin' and travellin' - Zamba with officemates last June and Bicol (including Camsur!) to meet Ranie's family last August. Add to that all the weekend "Manila Field Trips" and regular Elbi visits that Ranie and I have done all year. So I'm still thankful for these "GO" events. :) Also, I have an upcoming KL / Singapore trip next month, so hahabol yun. :)

Wear

- Quilted or Zebra Print Chucks

- Pumps and heels (hello new office in June!)

- More dresses and feminine things

I never managed to find quilted and zebra print chucks :/ BUT I think (and Ranie would agree) that I more than made up for it by the amount of other things I acquired. Haha! (Kaya pala hindi natuloy yung car fund. JK)

Write

- Freelance articles for magazines. (Hello, Moe and Pao) - I'm quitting my erswhile racket and pursuing this SERIOUSLY for real this year

-get published again. hopefully my schedule will give me more creative space to go back to writing short stories

I think "WRITE" was my biggest accomplishment for 2011. I quit my regular job, applied for an MA, and then got in. :) Going back to school was something I really wanted to do a few years after college. I wanted it SO BAD. But I thought, in the current circumstances of things, that it would be hard to ask for. That it would be unfair to ask for it.

But see, God listens, and when your heart's desire is part of his plan, he'll make the impossible not just possible - but WAY better than where you came from!

First of all, I got into the program I wanted. I'm still taking undergrad classes right now (because I had no film courses in college) - but I'm enjoying it to the hilt, of course. This is it!

My general idea was to coast by on my parent's benevolence and scrounge up some raket money for random ukay trips on the side. Serious. I was just so thankful to already have been given the TIME to finally return to school. But apparently, God had better (and more solid) ideas in mind!

Suddenly, Mid-October, I found my hands full with different types of work. With the people and the ideas that I enjoy working with. The financial support it provided is not pambili ng hacienda (of course!), but it has allowed me to be generous (in my own way), and to share little blessings with my family and my friends - and even with people I'm not related to. And the best part was that I could do it all without having to give up going to class or attending to other important personal things *uboblogubo* haha. My perspectives and faith really changed and deepend. It was the biggest miracle of my 2011!

- Be kickass and make ETC the most kickass channel evarrr

- Share God and my faith with my family

- Get a credit card so I can space out paying for aforementioned buys

- Get a basic phone line (everyone together: "why only nao?!")

So OK - I'm glad that I didn't push through with the credit card. I think at my rate, I'm still better off without one. :) The phone line application is pending! Haha. I applied kasi only last week. So much for making habol!

I "left" ETC but now I'm still with ETC - working on the fabulous show ETCETERA. I'm really enjoying it, and best of all, I'm still working with the best people - Patti, Kim, Val, Daryl, Ernan, Kevin, Nat, Lilian, Jay, Cit-cit, Genstein, Mayesa, Mike H, Steph, Gelo, Ma'am Anne, Sherman, Dan, and so on. I think we're still the most kick-ass channel. I LOVE what I'm doing :)

I'm finally upfront to my family about my faith. And they're OK with it. :)

In pictures - the most massive collage ever. It grew so long because I had to keep extending the canvas size. Haha! :) THANK YOU to everyone who's here :)

So that has been what was for this year. In retrospect, it wasn't me who made everything happen - it was the amazing, kind, talented people around me. My friends, my "employers" and "handlers" LOL, my orgmates and officemates, my family, and Ranie (who has been of course, the ultimate sounding-board and source of comfort, support, free shoessss and UNLI FREE HUGS all year and forever!). And above all, it was God. Seriously. Just try Him. I assure that how you see things will be different and better.

I know some of you check this blog from time to time because I force you to. SO THANK YOU for making 2011 happen for me. It has been so good and so amazing.

I am ending 2011 in a mood of GRATITUDE and PRAISE. Beginning 2012 with Excitement and even more determination! Let's now get ready to delve into 2012! (Oh my god, I just made another lame handle right there)

Fauxlaroid

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 04:11:00 +0000

Remember the pre-DSLR era when "I'm bored" translated to putting on some mascara and lipstick, taking self-shots in your bedroom, and uploading a "creative" album on Multiply that garnered lots of comments from your friends? It was all so much more simpler back then. :D

(Wait... what? You never ever did that sort of crazy gratuitousness?)

Christmas Day

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 03:12:00 +0000

No use pretending that I'm doing something else today hehehe, so here goes - second post for the day. Now I have no excuse to finish scripts, watch Asiong Salonga, get a mani-pedi, clean out my room for 2012 (wait should the mani-pedi go last), change my life, change my perspective, resolve to save more money ad infinitum.

Umm I was saying...

Christmas Day was just spent trying to get home. For the past 3 years, our 12.25's always been marked by a major road fail. (New car... come to me. Have to make this my serious claim for 2012). But despite that harrowing note, I'm thankful that it wasn't a serious accident, that prior to that I was with my family, and that it was a good downtime for everyone to come together, eat, relax, celebrate, and be thankful for the Lord's gift of life. After posting my maarte photos on Christmas eve comes shots of my relaxed get-up!

What I wore on the 25th itself - 'scuse the puyat look - well it was Christmas Eve the night before haha! yes, the same pants I wore the night before, and a cute red top which I also just received a few hours prior to this shot (I liked it that much). Why am I regaling you with anecdotes of my disgusting side?

When you make successive shopping trips for Christmas gifts it's kind of inevitable to buy little things for yourself as well. Hmm so much for having a "budget." But these were too cute to ignore and quite a steal. My sister and I spotted them inside that mall in Quezon Ave after our Lazer Tag date with our brothers and cousins the other day. In fact we loved it so much that we got identical pairs for each other and for our two gurl pinsans as well. Haha.

Chain link and rubber bracelet from my little cousins. So sweet.

Another one of my budget-ruining "little gifts for myself:" that camera case I featured in my acquisitive wish list. But what the hey, it's put up with being inside a flimsy bright green plastic kikay kit for months now, it sure deserves this pogi upgrade.

Photos by my brother Paolo!

Christmas Eve

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 02:38:00 +0000

brandless sequined top | belt and pants from SM | gifted peeptoes from Pill at The Ramp

photos by our brother Paolo

Still not done going through the massive amount of photos that we have from about 7 cameras (!) that were used last night, so these for now. ~~Forced~~ encouraged my sister to come in color blocking to be the foil to my utilitarian get-up (you'd think I'd come up with something better or out of the ordinary for this particular night - but I had my huge-ass ring and sequins on my top so I guess I'm still in keeping with the "holiday" theme? Right?). The wigs were easier to discuss actually. We spent it in Nova with the whole big family as we always do. Love the holidays. Love our relatives. Love the little, useful, pretty things I got this year. And as you can see in the last photo, where I'm vainly trying to cover up my bilbil - loved all the food and dessert too, obviously.

{PS - Here's my post about Christmas Eve on the Tumblr.}

lights will guide you home

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:52:00 +0000

There are too many things to be concerned about, and not everyone is celebrating Christmas in a festive and abundant manner this year. But I'm praying, at least, for a peaceful and meaningful day for everyone. It's still good to be alive, and to have a Savior to be thankful for.

Telling Stories in Fragments and Guessing Games

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:33:00 +0000

Here: emergency outfit c/o my college buddy Val, meeting the super warm Marc Abaya and cute-as-pie The Bloom Brothers, oddly hypnotizing set designs, and my first-ever (gasp!) online purchase, which I'm excited to use, um, next year. I'm putting this on the queue just to have a personal reminder of my decisions re: certain things (this the "guessing games" part of this post) and out of sheer random anticipation of not being able to post anything decent in the coming days (looking forward to some downtime, celebrating and eating non-stop with my family and friends). God has been so, so, so good to me this year - He is the greatest! I can only dive headfirst and trust that this is still the right direction. Does still feel like that somewhat, anyhow.

I feel like making a huge thank you list, but I'll save that for a later post. :)

Notebook Stripes

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Thrifted sweater with lace patches

I am not kidding when I say that I've been wearing this top successively (about 3 times already) for the past two weeks. It's warm enough to keep me cozy, and the color is of course holiday-appropriate. Useful in keeping one's spirits up especially in oddly unforgettable situations (how awkward my euphemisms are). I can super imagine this transitioning next year to a "resort" or pre-summer look, with shorts, wedges, and big sunglasses!

*EDIT: I'll babble about where this happened, next time. ^_^

Writer's Block | by Yso Man

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:49:00 +0000

Photos by Yso Manloloyo

Remember this?

A few weeks back, my friend Yso took some photos and I ~~smoked~~ posed for her - and here is how it turned out. Full credits go to Yso's stellar direction and photography skills, and patience with me as well hehe. The shoot was loosely based on a writer's struggle to look for inspiration. It was raining and gloomy that day, so it suited the slightly dark inclinations of this set (save for the red skirt). Wore my own clothes and her friend Fefe Katindig did my hair and make-up - it's so interesting. I don't look like myself at all, which I love. It must be the Frieda-ish brows. Now if only I look like these whilst writing scripts - actually right now I'm in pajama shorts, Ranie's old org shirt, glasses, and unbrushed hair. You get the picture. Thank you Yso for bringing me along in this!

runaway mentality

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

thrifted sweater | forever21 maxidress | brandless bandage skirt

photos by Paolo Garcia

I'm a flower in your hair

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Photo by Paolo Garcia | Creative Direction by Miguel Encarnacion | Post processing by me

As I mentioned in a previous post, I spent a day in Batangas, collaborating with two Miguels: my brother and my college buddy.We had no shortage of beautiful spots - like this wonderful patch of bouganvilleas - to shoot at in Mt. Malarayat country club. I'll share the other pictures in coming posts. I want to go back here next summer!

PS Check out what Miggy did with more photos, HERE

Accessorize Buy 1 Get 1 FREE for 3 Days Only!

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 02:30:00 +0000

Accessorize has branches at:

Festival Supermall | Alabang Town Centre | SM Southmall | SM Mall of Asia

Greenbelt 5 | Glorietta 3 | Edsa Shangri-La

Robinson's Place Ermita | Robinson's Galleria

Trinoma | Marquee Mall Pamapanga | SM Pampanga

SM Davao | SM Cebu | Ayala Cebu

Robinson's Dumaguete | SM Cagayan de Oro | Abreeza Mall

Batangas 12.11.11

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

photos by Paolo Garcia (except last one) | post processing by me

I (along with my brother Paolo) took some photos of my college pal Miggy for one of my assignments. It was supposed to be just a simple exercise on creating cinematic space, but it just so happened that we did it in a beautiful country club in Miggy's hometown. To cut straight to the point: I got all the shots I needed, along with a lot of "pang-blog" and "pang-portfolio" shots (they easily outnumbered my legit assignment shots oops). Here's a sampling - I'll post more shots next time because I started feeling guilty about paying more attention to what I'll post in the blog than my assignment. Thank you Miggy for being quite the tour guide!

nuances de gris

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

1204-1209

Weekend Roundup 121011

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Things I'm looking at, recently bought, listening to:

It was rainy today and I was just at home, searching for pegs for my assignment and somehow that translated into uploading collages - I guess i just wanted to make a virtual impression of what I'm surrounding myself with at the moment. I hope it's sunny when we shoot on Sunday.

Graphics Metropolis

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:53:00 +0000

Help Irvin win Exposure's People's Choice award with a simple click HERE

Spend a good hour ogling beautiful and inspiring photographs over at Graphics Metropolis

These are from the same college friend whose works appeared on Vogue Italia's website.

Because look where we are now. :)

Acquisitive Lisztomania

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:06:00 +0000

Better late than never! I've been putting off creating a post like this because most of the items on my "real" wishlist (i.e. the things I'm praying for) might a) bore you out, b) turn you off c) are too private for a so-called kalandian blog. But a wishlist post is in order! :) So I'm sharing now everything under the umbrella of my "happy material wants." Making this collage cheered me up ♥. So here goes:

Sentimental Style's Acquisitive Wish List:

Or, Hi Ranie! Hi Mama and Papa! :) LOL

1. An iPad2 - utterly useful for work and production! And my bosses are all telling me "bagay sayo ito." Hmm, sana bigyan nila ako! LOLJK. Lighter on the bag. Lovely to hold. Eco-friendly because I don't have to add to the paper mountain of magazines that resemble a fire hazard in my room (I can just download them). Lovely to hold. Handy for saving and showing pegs. Great for blogging on the go. And did I mention lovely to hold?

2. A decent make-up kit - I chose a MAC collage because my love Veronica sells them online for super owwwzzzum deals via The Beauty Kit *click*! I make it no secret that I'm surviving right now on department store standbys... but I'm becoming increasingly required to look not just decent, but actually pleasant. So there. This wish also doubles as a personal goal for next year - to translate theory into practice in matters of maquillage. :)

3. Red Dr. Martens, Pascal booties from Finch, Yosi Samra ballet flats - Sturdy shoes, low-heeled boots, and flats I can tuck away in my bag for emergencies - all for practicality's sake!

4. Alexander Wang's Jane bag with nickel hardware - No explanations necessary. Probably should declare here too that if money were no object and I have fulfilled all my financial duties, I'd buy everything he's made.

5. A brown leather case for my camera - 'cause its so kawawa inside that dorky make-up bag that I currently stuff it into. And sometimes I don't even bring the case at all. Kawawa talaga. Hehe.

All the photos are not mine. Searched via Google Images.

Bullfighter

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Photo by Ysobel Manloloyo

Can you imagine what happened two seconds after this shot was taken?

Spent last Sunday in Cavite with Yso and her hilarious classmates in her family's sprawling lost-world farm. She needed some clothes and a human subject for a school requirement, and I was available and willing. So there I was, posing for Yso ~~and pretending to be a model~~ when this cow came charging! This skirt shall now be renamed as the "bullfighter skirt." Totally worth sharing to the futurekids.

Bonifacio Day

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:30:00 +0000

Spent the last day of November on the set of a commercial for a US wireless service. It was more fun than work, which is inevitable when you're side-by-side with your college org mates. Opted in more for the experience rather than the compensation... we do it for the love, y'all.

I seriously need to cut back this December on commitments and put my head into surviving my first sem in grad school brilliantly (I decided to be on pseudo-undergrad mode because I had thought I'd be hardly doing anything work-related seeing as I had no "regular" job). But as I'm saying that about five different agendas are buzzing through my brain. I've been missing skype "dates" chronically and it's not helping that I'm thinking of that right now, when it's the weekend of our fourth anniversary. But I've already booked tickets for my KL trip next month. So things should be getting better henceforth. I don't know why I'm trying to make it sound matter-of-fact. I'm just sleepy I guess. Tired but really thankful with how everything is going along so far. That's it for now!

November Leftovers

noreply@blogger.com (krista) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:58:00 +0000

Here: brushes ready to paint the canvas that is the face during our MAC shoot, the strangely picturesque trees in Loyola, turning Kim into Zooey's missing sister, meeting Kai Vinson of Bobbi Brown cosmetics, and angry bird cakes inside one of the houses at SM's Christmas Village (I wrote the stories and copy that are on incessant loop at each house). December, I'm ready for you!