Isabelle Daza's IG TV needs to be watched and re-watched

For the first time in a long time, i feel the need to publicly address a video of a social media influencer.

WATCH ISABELLE DAZA'S IG TV HERE

I've been an Isabelle Daza fan since 2014 when I was obsessed with loosing weight by being fit. I felt a one-way connection with her because she's the tan one in the sea of light-skinned women in show business. In fact, my fitness journey posts have the #chasingisabelledaza hashtags..and when I got pregnant, I also jokingly posted that I was so busy chasing Isabelle Daza's body that I got her cousin's (Georgina Wilson)'s body instead (G and I got pregnant around the same time)..when Isabelle Daza got pregnant, I also joked that it's about time that Isabelle Daza chased me.

She became controversial with her jokes and contrary to the popular opinion, I found it funny because in reality, there are non-showbiz people whose jokes are "worse" than hers yet they gave her so much clout..after all, she's an influencer. I admired her sardonic humor while watching her stories and hands down, she has the hottest husband among the IT girls. Her humor is an acquired taste and it's unfortunate that not a lot could really appreciate it. I followed her pregnancy journey, her breastfeeding journey and her "trying to get her figure back" journey and she's transparent over the fact that these journeys weren't easy for her

Maybe people who make a big issue about the things she says are those who are thinking the same thing as her yet not having the same guts to say it out loud.

It takes a lot of fearlessness for a social media influencer to be vocal about the things that us, non-influencers(as same berth as hers) experience. The anxieties, insecurities and the feeling of inadequacy seems to be bottomless and for one, I am comforted that I am not alone in this. Social Media doesn't intend for us to feel this way and here I am feeling inadequate that I haven't booked anything during the last International Travel Festival. I've pondered why I am feeling this way and I've realized a few things:

1. I follow people whose livelihood is to make the best out of their life sans monetary worries. It's business and I forgot that these people were also vocal that their lives weren't always easy-peasy too.

2. I should change the way I feel about my connections in social media. Instead of feeling sad that I haven't been to where they were and tried what they did, I should be glad that they get to experience those things and could share it publicly.

3. Be the queen who arranges the crown of other people. There is plenty of happiness and success for every one to share and yours won't diminish just because you 

4. Unfollow/unfriend/disconnect with people online you can't say "Hi" to in real life. Less awkwardness and it's already 2018, even way too late to detox. There's nothing wrong with wanting a smaller circle

5. ALLOW YOURSELF to feel negative at times. Let's admit, being 100% positive 100% of the time can take a toll. Humans are created to feel and being negative over something is normal. Give yourself permission to feel down. Stumble, acknowledge the pain and enable your support system to help you get back on your feet.

To Isabelle Daza who surprise surprise, basically told every one that she's human, we hear you and we are not alone. Life can be overwhelming and remember, direction doesn't always have to come with a speed. 

Has anybody ever told you that

As soon as I knew how far I was, I looked up everything I can from the internet. Every OB appointment is something that I look forward to because it gives me the opportunity to ask questions that has no answer in Google. I measure myself every week and check on every progress that was applicable to me and the signs that I have to observe which might mean trouble.. but there are things that your friends, family, your doctor and internet won't be able to tell you and I enumerated some of them here

7. Migraines. Headaches or what ever you call them. You can basically identify your baby's needs by which part you are having a migraine. Right migraine means your thirsty, left means your hungry or you need to pee and front lobe pain means you have a sinus induced headache.

6. Burps are precious. I'm sure that you've heard of cases wherein a pregnant woman can't stop burping. It might be embarrassing but each burp is a step away from indigestion and heartburn. I tried eating and lying down less than 30 minutes after. It didn't happen again cause the feeling was THAT horrible.

5. Don't eat your fill. You are not eating for two, you are eating for you and a baby the size of a peach, there's a difference. My OB told me that your baby is considered a parasite (as icky as it sounds) wherein s/he is going to siphon all the energy from you so you have to be smart about what you eat. I don't eat my fill because that's when I vomit.

4. Exercise has cured me of my fatigue and migraines ALWAYS. First trimester fatigue is one of the worst things that I went through. It made me lazy and complacent and it made me want to skip gym. The hardest part is actually moving my tush to the gym, once I'm there, everything is easy. So sweat it, because endorphin is a natural cure for headaches.

3. Pregnant people get free access to Ayala Center's Customer Lounge all day, every day. I was having one of those "I have to nap" moments while I was in Ayala and so I went to their Customer Lounge. As I was readying my payment, the woman asked me if I was pregnant and after I said yes she waived my payment and asked me to choose which seat I'm most comfy at.

2.  People will always have something to say. This. This irritates me most of all. It's damn if you do, and damn if you don't. Every day I am thankful to have a kind of pregnancy journey that's easier than most and a husband that allows me to experiment within my bounds. But people, most especially mothers, will try to dictate you on what and what not to do..and you think that this stops after pregnancy? Well think again. B was worried that I am actually very sociable and nice which is unlikely for a pregnant woman but when I get nasty, woohoo, watch out cause I know how to use words well and I aim straight for the jugular.

1. I'm almost halfway (16 weeks) in and my journey is a whirlwind of events and I think this is going way too fast. Before I know it, I might be snapping during my labor and giving birth. The reality is that, people will tell you to enjoy your pregnancy not only because it happens only a few times but because everything happens swiftly.

Saved by the Bell

Saved By The Bell: 

Saved at the last possible moment

As we all know, February is THE love month. Sardonic as some people can be (claiming as to why we should only show our love on February's only), the husband and I actually look forward to Valentines. As they say, to keep the marriage strong, we should treat our SOs (or in my case, BETTER half) like we are just on the courtship stage of our relationship. We might be sweeter but we are also practical; we decided to have dinner at Ramen Sora with our family but before that, we went to SnR to do our weekly grocery. 

 I sometimes get asked how my husband and I met. I'd like to think that they do so out of sheer curiosity and not because they think he's just way out of my league. Here's our not so short story and reminiscing about it still makes me smile. I met Bryan when I was at the abject point of my life. I was 24 and in the midst of my quarter life crisis; I had no career accomplishments, I had no financial stability and I just ended a long-term relationship. The only thing that was going right with my life that time was my steady relationship with my friends coupled with our weekly karaoke get-together at Redbox. The husband claims that he's attracted to me before we were officially introduced to each other so when my friend texted him that we were at Redbox, he decided to invite himself. 

He's naive when it comes to dating-or so he says. We were on to our first few months in our dating relationship and truth be told, it wasn't as idyllic as it is now. I guess it stemmed from the fact that I expected too much from him and he's still trying to learn the ropes of handling an erratic person.Though he was such a newbie, he showed me how much I mean to him by courting me the old-fashioned way. He went to our old residence and personally asked my parents for the permission to date me. Our relatives who were relatively curious as to what he's up to also "dropped by" our house to check him out personally. 

Over the years, he has managed to earn the trust and love of our family, he's the one they usually look for during our gatherings and it makes my heart glad. My parents approve of him because he basically exonerated them with their parental responsibilities towards me. It's very difficult NOT to like him once you get to know him better because he's selfless and naturally kind. Time and again, I always say that I've felt God's love because He gave me a husband whom I can count on (EXCEPT on times when he tries to pick me up on places he's not so familiar with-which consists 90% of Cebu) 

So my darling Bryan, this post is for you, thank you for saving me when I didn't know I needed saving. We don't see each other eye to eye at times but because of that, we have clearly defined what marriage should be about. I am looking forward to more Valentines, dashboard confessionals, car karaoke sessions and practical dates with you 

   

Okay let's tackle the lighter content of this blog which is what I am wearing. Dresses are always my safest go-to outfit most especially when doing multiple errands. Aside from embroidery and detailed artwork on clothes, shapeless bohemian inspired dresses are a staple in my closet.

 I use them when I feel bloated and at times when we eat out but for every time I want to transform a dress into something more flattering, I use my brown braided belt from H&M. 

Dress: Brandless (Bought at ukay for Php125)| Watch: Casio| Flats: Payless|Bag: Marithe Francois Girbaud 

TWENTY THREE SKIDOO

Twenty three skidoo

To be turned away

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERY ONE!

Like every one else, I initially planned to start this year with a huge BANG! Like every one else, my goals were to lose weight, cultivate meaningful relationships with people, and let go of things and circumstances that were toxic and useless for me. 

There I was sitting on my proverbial high-chair giving solicited advice to people who ask for it and then the "BANG" I was actually waiting for wasn't the kind of impact that I was expecting. I am not going to delve on the specific details because I don't want to attract schadenfreude readers but let's just say that a rejection totally hit me hard yesterday.

If the tables were turned and you are actually the one considered toxic and useless, how would you deal with that rejection?

Circa '11 Nym would've said "F*ck it and move on" but this current version now has a semblance of what they call "heart". As DJ Khaled said, "Don't burn no bridge because you can't walk on water. Only God can walk on water"

Okay, that totally made me laugh

It's normal that you begin to re-evaluate your relationship with that person and self-doubts about your ability to handle relationships WELL will start to surface. You will start to take a lot of things personally and as my favorite fashion blogger said, we are our own worst critics. 

We might not feel the need to take it easy on ourselves in the heat of the moment but it will come, eventually. Just like the hurt that we got from being rejected, perhaps the person who made the decision to let us go was also acting out of their own feelings of hurt and fear.

It will also be helpful if you bring out that cynical side of you and actually say "Hey, this is not the first time someone has said NO to me, I've survived and done well before, I will soon be back to normal again" 

 .. and with closed chapters, we begin to ready ourselves for the new beginning. Who knows? Perhaps my December ending came a few days late and my JANUARY is just about to start.

As I close this entry, Let me talk about my Php200 outfit. I wore this last December during those times in our office that every one was busy NOT minding other people's business. 

I bought this dress for Php50.00 ONLY at that ukay-ukay store right across Robinson's Fuente. The cloth is made of stretchable cotton and even though I'm not a fan of ruffles, I made an exception here since it highlights my chest more than my lack of flat abs. Of course, putting both hands in the front pocket also helped..ALOT.

 I got the jelly studded flats from Charain for Php150.00 and she also sells other things from USA aside from footwear. 

Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve

Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve: 

To openly and freely express your emotions.

Hello.

It's me

I'm the one who doesn't waste time beating around the bush and that puts off some people. If you are the patient kind then you will find a loyal and good friend in me. My life mantra has always been "life's too short and tomorrow is never guaranteed" so cut off people you don't need and always have space for those who want to be in it. To those who know me well, they know that underneath my snarky facade is very big heart. If you don't believe this, then you know where you stand. 

Enjoy my wickedness. Har har

I wore this one during The Courtyards at Brookridge General Orientation and Launching last November. I just came back from a long weekend at Pampanga and I only had 3 hours of sleep because of the massive delayed flights. We managed to catch the last schedule of MNL-CBU before the APEC's no fly-zone policy and it flew around 11PM. I woke up incoherent and donned on what seems to be proper during a condominium launching. My job entails me to discuss what's the project about and I have to put my best foot forward despite the lack of rest.

I don't like tassels or layers of frills in my clothing because it makes me look big but I always appreciate details most especially if the cloth doesn't have prints. I rarely wear this long-sleeved blouse because I reserve it for special occasions-which includes distracting people from my tired-looking face and deviating their attention to my intricately-detailed top. 

Zara's Basic trousers should be a must-have for every woman. They are flattering (considering it has a hip band and I have a short torso) and they feel so good on the skin (second to Uniqlo)

Top: Marigold|Pants: Zara Basic|Flats: Cotton On|Watch: Casio

You Can't Take it With You

You Can't Take it With You

--Enjoy what you have and not what you don't have, since when you die you cannot take things (such as money) with you.

I wore this outfit exactly a week ago and it was unfortunately appropriate that it was exactly the same day that I knew that my sick grandfather has died. The only thing I have ever thought of the past few days prior to this was how difficult to be of age when your grandparents are starting to die on you. I was actually regressing then.

Last year, Gramp's health started to deteriorate and we attributed it to his old age. We found out later that he had cancer as a by-effect of his continuous smoking through the years. I have friends who smoke and I might have tried a stick or two but if you can quit NOW, then try your best to do so. The path spiraling downwards death by too much smoking is painful, not easy and very uncomfortable

My grandfather's life revolved around building houses for his family and relatives. He loved animals and we never saw him without one. Looking back, I also realized that each of our household has pets of different kind. I'm very sure we got it from our Lolo. He's already reunited with Lola and that gives us much comfort. He might not be able to take all his pets in heaven as I'm sure he prefers but he left a legacy that all of us will never forget

On to a lighter topic, fashion blogging can be very narcissistic but I can't really talk about myself all the time since majority of what happens to me every day is work and quality time with the husband; the latter is something too personal to discuss. 

Around 90% of my clothes are bought at ukay-ukay. I get a kick out of people complimenting my almost reckless abandon for office dressing and me telling them that I bought this for less than Php100 only.

I love the ribbon details at the front of this top. I bought this one for Php7.00 only. Yep, seven pesos only at the Talisay ukay-ukay under the Tabunok bridge. The skirt I bought for Php100. It's a stretchable bandage skirt which, honestly, would've been preferable NOT to be paired with the top I wore. 

Black Top: Amy|Bandage Skirt: Cotton On|Flats: Cotton On|Watch: Esprit