Tell me what you know about dreamin' dreamin'..

 Last Monday, the lovely Roxy from Roxy ;) invited us to the first Roxy/Quicksilver store in the Philippines.. I had never been to Nuvali and couldn't pass up the little day trip to Laguna for a little playtime. It turned out to be quite the chill Monday!

First we got a little tour of the store which I have to say is pretty rad already, my favorite piece of decor being the floating surfboards on the ceiling. We messed with the clothes and played dress-up for a little while, goofing around the store all bright-eyed and excited at all the merchandise. The bikinis are amazing this season, and I went home with my own Roxy bikini swag - a turquoise & coral scale print bikini, while Ikee opted for a backpack - quite possibly the first ever backpack she has ever owned.. hahha.

After lunch at Sumosam, we had to suspend the chit-chatting for a while, because our brains would only carry a conversation so far.. I'm pretty sure I told stories while half asleep. Not quite sure if I made sense at all.. totally blaming the crunchy tuna rolls for that one! Thanks Roxy!!! Will definitely stop by again soon.. and I'm excited for the upcoming kiteboarding events in collaboration with the brand :)))

Meanwhile, it's like life has come to a still stand for me.. waiting sucks in itself but when the waiting involves major life changes, the nerves often have a hard time catching up. I'm lucky if I can spend the night snuggled up in my nook, safe from my thoughts and drunk on love. But most nights these days are interrupted by sneaky nightmares, sudden awakenings and then taken over by this thing called my brain. If only it was easier to make a decision, stick with it, and regret it as little as possible.

But I guess they don't call it a quarter-life crisis for nothing.

She made my heart beat in a now-now time signature

wearing SOLARA SWIMWEAR Malachite High Waist, Melanite Monokini & RAYBAN Aviators

My summer seems to be a series of survival challenges. The tropical storm last weekend proved to be a bit of a tough one to get through, health wise. On Friday we started our yearly "Boracay Bound" - an event sponsored to the nines, attended by celebs and supermodels, who get down and dirty and so silly things like run down the beach tied to each other and then pull all-night-intoxication-acts, only to wake up much to early and do it all over again the next day. This year, I played for the same team again, Team Seair led by my friend Marc Nelson of course, my second year in a row playing on his team.. what happens when you mix two people as competitive as us? Lots of shouting (Marc) and cussing (Dane). Whatta team!

In the finals we were joined by my girl Sandra Seifert, who is also one half of the design team behind the brand new swimsuit line SOLARA, her other half being none other than the gorgeous, and newly married Maggie Wilson-Consunji. I was lucky enough to model for their first two shows, and got to choose two pairs to keep. I'm mad about the high waist bikini, which hides all sorts of tummy issues, and the monokini is a classic piece. Get yours at www.solaraswimwear.com.

One of our prizes for winning 1st (again!) was a pair of RayBan sunglasses.. I was lucky enough to get the pair I really wanted; the classic Aviator. Definitely worth the obstacle course in the heat and then playing volleyball and ultimate Frisbee in the rain.. also almost worth my persistent colds! Photos from the awarding night fashion show hopefully in the next post!

I found another beat, there's no time for sleep

 

Photo by: Walk the Earth pictures: Joncy Sumulong / Alf Molo

wearing Forever 21 skinny jeans, Weekday skull tee, H&M leopard wedges, Zara studded bucket bag, Gina Tricot Bangles

After an unprecedented pre-party happy hour, Paula and I hit the anniversary party for Stoked Inc. at the Rockwell tent, to show our support to my favorite surf store. JV and Mumph were part of the group that first taught me how to wakeboard a good 7 or something years ago, and it is them I have to thank for awakening my inner water rat, eventually leading me to kiteboarding and surfing and turning me into a fiercely loyal Billabong  hoarder. Stoked Inc. is responsible for single-handily causing an outburst of local interest in all things watersports, before others could catch on to the trend, and continue to hold their own in a growing scene - 10 years, cheers!!

The open bar was overflowing with Absolut Vodka and Chivas Regal, and in a drunken haze and after a quick stop at Barcino, we found ourselves at M Cafe, but by that time I could barely even muster up the energy for a drink.. knowing I had to be up at 5:30am to beat the morning traffic and meet an important client at 8am. I'm convinced I was still intoxicated enough to sing to myself in the shower before I fought my way through the giant pile of clothes on the floor, shoved my feet into a pair of boots and gingerly tiptoed out of the house and climbed into a cab. Determination helped me dismiss my hangover for enough hours, with the help of two bottles of Red Bull until finally, in the late afternoon, halfway through gnawing my way through a Santi's sandwich, I rolled over and blurred the lines between delirium and la la land..

Stoked Inc. can be found in Rockwell Powerplant, Trinoma, Bonifacio High Street, Mall of Asia, Alabang Town Center, The Podium, Gateway Mall & Greenhills Shopping Center

Junk jump off too much time for old beats, cold beats, I'm just cold meat

As our tropical summer is fast approaching, I am fiending more and more for the cold. Missing the mild climate isn't the only thing I miss from being back in Europe.. My birthday carried a bit of a nostalgic undertone, having my family on my mind and not being able to share my day with them. This last weekend was just about as close as I'll get to spending quality family time with my extended family. Saturday night I crashed and burned, accelerated by my main man Jack and topping it all off with death in a shot glass.. Bacardi 151. All while enjoying what comes off as the Filipino version of the Pussycat Dolls prancing around a club with an indoor swimming pool. These girls grind like its nobody's business, all while avoiding the ever feared metallic bikini wedgies. They're pros, I tell ya. Sunday in contrast was nothing but mellow yellow. We drove up and away from the city to arrive at a house smelling of barbecue and the most amazing adobo you will ever have.. and lounged and played wii and card games until it was time for us to get dressed to attend a birthday graduation dinner before we finally got home to my hangover kicking in double time to the point where I barely even come up with the energy needed to get myself ready for bed. T.K.O.

Because the photo-traffic on my iphoto has started to spin out of control, I figured It was time to post these randoms from my trip to Sweden. Seriously, there aren't many things in the world as enjoyable as drinking a milkshake in the snow.. OK maybe shopping for vintage hats in a store that seems to be getting bigger and bigger as you walk through it.. or rolling around the snow drunk on red wine while clumsily trying to build a snowman. AlIright I guess there are quite a few things as enjoyable, but I gotta say, any activity involving a milkshake tops my priority list pretty easily.