Thanks, Soak Swimwear! Your bikinis make me want to work out so I can show off your cute designs more often :p

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Notes From The Runway

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — SOAK swimwear introduces their spring-summer 2012 collection with the hottest trends off the runway. Always ahead of the pack, SOAK swimwear takes the latest in fashion and reinterprets the looks into the most stylish swimwear in the metro.

While wadding in infinity pool, sunbathing on the field or partying on the beach, take a piece of the runway with you. SOAK swimwear presents its Spring-Summer 2012 collection.

All aboard with red, white, and blue. For spring-summer 2012, the nautical look returns on the runway and on the beach. May you be sailing off the coast of East Hamptons or sipping cocktails on a yacht, the nautical line will bring out the sexy sailor in you!

Reminiscent of glamorous pin-up ladies of the Old Hollywood era, SOAK’s 50’s inspired swimwear line resonates the modest and sensual style of the golden era gone by. Channel the Marilyn Monroe in you with the line’s dual tones and high-waist bikini bottoms. Chic and sensual!

Inspired by the bandage dresses made famous by Herve Ledger, this line exudes style and subdued sensuality with its form-hugging fabric strips and strategically positioned cutouts that could even be worn with a pair of shorts or a mini skirt.

For the fun, the young or the young at heart and the adventurous, SOAK releases its color-blocked line that exudes energy and vibrancy! Add a splash of color to summer with neon bikinis that spell out fun!

One-piece bathing suits need not be a bore. Maillots have become the go-to swimwear for muted sensuality and elegant style. Cutouts in strategic areas create forms and lines that highlight the woman’s curves.

Get a chance to win Soak Swimwear gift certificates worth PhP1,500 by tweeting this

#SpellSaab is giving away @soakswimwear GCs! I want to win! http://bit.ly/KSg3s0

You must be from the Philippines and only one tweet per person. No need to tag me! I will pick a random winner by 7PM tonight! You must be following me to win.

Soak Swimwear is available at Cabana, 2/F 109 Gamboa st. Makati City.
Follow Soak Swimwear on Facebook and Twitter.
http://soak-swimwear.com

The small and sleek design of the phone makes it easy to carry around and show off. They got Sam Milby and Toni Gonzaga as endorsers – I must say that this duo really shines with their Duos.

Celebrities such as Toni and Sam believe that gadgets may as well be part of a person’s fashion statement and what says stylish yet smart and practical more than the Samsung Champ Deluxe Duos?

The most practical feature would have to be the Dual On capability. This means that you can use two sim cards that are active at the same time! Not all dual sim phones can do this. From what I know, you usually have to switch from one sim to the other so this feature is a real highlight of the Champ Deluxe Duos.

So let’s see… It’s affordable, has it’s own instant messaging app (Chat On), and most important of all (hahaha this may be debatable) it looks minimalist and cool.

Get a chance to win one by following these steps:

1. Like Spell Saab on Facebook
2. Click here and leave a comment that says PICK ME! only once and leave your Twitter username. You must also be following me on Twitter so I can send a direct message if you win.
3. Deadline is on 11:59PM May 18 and I will choose a winner at random via electronic raffle (announcement on May 19).

Photo taken 5 years ago at his birthday party. The only night we ever actually smiled at each other. And it was only because we were both tipsy on beer haha.

Jim is the lead singer of the band Ernville and I’ve known him since the first day of college. We had the same circle of friends but there was never a reason for us to talk to each other. We were in separate relationships when I thought he was a know-it-all snob and he believed I was a crazy buzz-kill. He even secretly made me a “hate song” called Simangot that I used to sing along to until I found out it was about me and how he wished I wasn’t part of the group. Spoiler alert: we fell in love two years after graduation.

I guess he was just socially retarded and it was like pushing his kindergarten crush off the playground swing. We’ve been together for a year now and the perks of being with a fellow musician are the best.

Ernville + Saab

I felt an instant connection with his band mates and they say I brought them closer together. They were just band mates before I entered the picture and somehow, being the first girlfriend of Jim’s who actually enjoys going to gigs and jamming, his band became our barkada.

When we’re not hanging out with the band, Jim and I spend our days geeking out about our favorite bands’ new album releases and more than once we’ve spent a Friday night tinkering with Garage Band until 3 in the morning. I started singing for Duster in February and he’s been a great source of inspiration from day one. Seeing him in the audience looking so proud makes a big difference to my performance. Since we got together I’ve only missed two of his gigs and he’s only missed one of mine. We’ve been making songs together on the side and Jim creates the catchiest riffs and he says he loves the melodies I come up with.

Jamming

It’s a give and take process but we also clash at times when he thinks I don’t like the songs he makes or I get mad when we’re jamming and he says I’m off-key. I get embarrassed to share my lyrics with him because it’s harder to impress someone who also writes his own words. We give our unconditional support but criticism from each other is also the hardest to take. Personally I’d like my boyfriend to think I’m perfect, and for him to point out some things I can improve on really bruises my ego. Of course this only justifies his college theory of me being crazy because – say it with me – nobody’s perfect. We’ve since understood that when we give tips to each other it’s just so we can develop our talents and I’ve learned to value his opinion.

Laneway Music Festival in Singapore 2012

Our relationship is just like any other that commands respect and trust. It’s definitely a bonus to be in love with a fellow music lover but what makes it work is the fact that my love goes beyond the musician in him.  Be a girlfriend, not a groupie. We make music minus the misery.

Published in Chalk Magazine’s Music issue (May 2012)

“Holding Free Comic Book Day is our way of showing appreciation to all the comic book fans and giving them something exciting to look forward to as a way of thanking them for their support,” says Fully Booked Managing Director Jaime Daez.

This year, Fully Booked will distribute an exclusive cover from a DC Comics sample plus other premium items. Cosplayers of favorite Marvel and DC characters will be present to entertain for guests and photo opportunities.

Comic book enthusiasts are also in for a full treat as Comic Odyssey, the specialty comic shop, opens a branch inside the Fully Booked flagship store in Taguig.

“I’m both excited and honored to be working with the premiere bookstore in the country,” says Sandy Sansolis, proprietor and owner of Comic Odyssey stores. “The best and widest selection of books, comics, and graphic novels under one roof makes Fully Booked the top destination for the whole comics-loving community.”

Comic Odyssey will open on the 4^th floor of Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street.

Free Comic Book Day at Fully Booked begins when their branches open on May 19, 2012. Fully Booked offers 20% off on all graphic novel and manga purchases for that day.

Participating stores are as follows: Bonifacio High Street; SM Mall of Asia; Greenbelt 5; Power Plant Mall; Promenade, Greenhills; Eastwood Mall; Regis Center, Katipunan; EDSA Shangri-La Hotel; Gateway Mall; The Block, SM North EDSA, and TriNoma.

For store opening times and more information, please visit www.fullybookedonline.com or follow Fully Booked at www.facebook.com/fullybooked and www.twitter.com/_fullybooked.

Powered by the reliable 4G network of Tattoo, surf at speeds of up to 7.2Mbps with Tattoo Player, Tattoo Explorer and Tattoo Stylista.

Designed for gaming, movie and music enthusiasts, the Tattoo Player lifestyle stick gives Tattoo subscribers access to five free music downloads, free credits to online games and 50% off on Ayala Cinema tickets plus one year unlimited free access to movies and gaming sites like gamespot.com, ign.com, sureseats.com and rottentomatoes.com.

Food and travel adventurers will delight in the Tattoo Explorer lifestyle stick as it takes the subscriber in a yummy journey. Get free issue of Yummy magazine, 50% discount at selected Redbox branches, two free music downloads, unlimited access for one year to food and travel sites like munchpunch.com, clickthecity.com, airphilexpress.com, tripadvisor.com and agoda.com plus buy one take one deals on Airphil Express domestic tickets.

For the fabulous stylista, the Tattoo Stylista lifestyle stick showers the subscriber with discounts at Multiply, Pisobid, VMV Superskin Facials and unlimited access to popular lifestyle and fashion websites such as stylebible.ph, themall.ph and lookbook.nu.

Every Tattoo Prepaid Lifestyle Stick lets you enjoy freebies, discounts, rewards and content tailored to your passion for only P1,295. Simply register in the LiveTattoo.ph site to claim.

I’m more of an explorer so I’m giving three lucky readers of mine their own Tattoo Prepaid Explorer lifestyle stick! How do you fuel your passions? Tweet with the hashtag #LiveTattoo.

1. Follow @chooseTATTOO on Twitter.
2. Fill in the blank: I live an Explorer life by ________________. #LiveTattoo @chooseTATTOO (ex: “I live an Explorer life by ditching the travel guides and going for the unbeaten path! #LiveTattoo @chooseTATTOO”)
3. TWEET ONLY ONCE. No flooding.
4. Copy paste your tweet on the comments section of this blog post so I can keep track of entries! Make sure your Twitter accounts are public so we can verify your tweets!
5. The 3 most unique answers will win 1 Tattoo Explorer Lifestyle stick each!
6. Promo is from May 15-16. Announcement of winners is on May 17.
7. Winners must be willing to pick up their prize in Makati.

Here are 12 upcoming movies (in chronological order) I can’t wait to see!

Moonrise Kingdom

Directed by Wes Anderson
Release date: May 16 2012

Anderson films are always ones to look forward to. The look of this movie reminds me of that Thanksgiving scene in The Addams Family movie. Weird nostalgia at its best, it’s got Ed Norton in it along with a lot more awesome people. But mostly… Ed Norton is in it<3

On The Road

Directed by Walter Salles
Release date: May 23 2012

Who cares if K-Stew is in it? It’s based on a classic book by Jack Kerouac which I sadly have not read yet. I’m really excited to see this because I’m a big Kirsten Dunst fan.

Prometheus

Directed by Ridley Scott
Release date: June 8 2012

I believe in aliens and this looks like a kick-ass movie. Just watch the trailer. ANCIENT ALIENS! The scoring is awesome, too.

Rock of Ages

Directed by Adam Shankman
Release date: June 15 2012

A musical about rock n’ roll in the late 80′s. It’s got a power cast and it looks super cheesy. Can’t wait to see it.

To Rome With Love

Directed by Woody Allen
Release date: June 22 2012

I think this movie has already been released in Italy but America will see it in June. Woody Allen is my favorite director. His story-telling skills are amazing. This movie stars Woody Allen, Penelope Cruz, Ellen Page and Jesse Eisenberg. It also has Alec Baldwin and Alison Pill in it.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Directed by Lorene Scarafia
Release date: June 22 2012

Not your usual end of the world movie. Great concept! I’m not a big fan of Keira Knightley but she looks pretty adorable here.

The Amazing Spider-man

Directed by Marc Webb
Release date: July 3 2012

Spidey’s always been my favorite superhero and news about a reboot gave me mixed feelings. The first trailer that came out was a bit blah. I think Andrew Garfield is cute like most girls do so I have no doubt that it will be a box-office hit. Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy is a little questionable but she’s a great actress I’m pretty sure she pulled it off. This trailer reminds me of the 1960s Spiderman cartoon and that’s a good thing!

Ted

Directed by Seth MacFarlane
Release date: July 13 2012

From the creator of Family Guy, this movie has Marky Mark and Mila Kunis (who voices Meg Griffin in Family Guy). Looks crazy funny!

The Dark Knight Rises

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Release date: July 20 2012

The Dark Knight was incredible so I’m hoping this one doesn’t disappoint. All released trailers have been amazing so far. I really hope Anne Hathaway as Catwoman delivers!

The Gangster Squad

Directed by Ruben Fleischer
Release date: Late 2012

Have you ever played the video game L.A. Noire? It’s a lot like this except this has Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin and Emma Stone in it. Gangster movies are always fun to watch. Sounds like this movie also has a bad ass soundtrack. Watch this with your boyfriend.

The Great Gatsby

Directed by Baz Luhrmann
Release date: December 25 2012

No trailer for this one yet but a Baz Luhrmann-Leo DiCaprio reunion! I really loved 1996′s Romeo + Juliet and now Leo and his old-school hair is being paired up with cutie pie Carey Mulligan! It’s based on the Fitzgerald classic novel. Plus, I super love Tobey Maguire who’s also in it!!!

Django Unchained

Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Release date: December 25 2012

Two Leo films this Christmas? Thank you, Santa! The new Quentin Tarantino stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Christophe Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Sacha Baron Cohen. Looks (forgive me for using the term but it’s seems appropriate) epic.

***

Of course I want to watch the Manila-set Bourne Legacy but (please don’t judge me for what I’m about to say) I haven’t seen any of the Bourne films yet. I already have the first one and I promise to watch it soon! I’m also excited to watch my younger brother Elmo’s movie Just One Summer coming very soon, too!!

What are the movies you can’t wait to see before the world year ends? Any local ones?

I’m actually wearing them right now but I’m not going to take a picture because bagong ligo ako and ang gulo ng itsura ko (haha).

Digits Trading is running a promo for people who visit their stores (Beyond The Box, Digital Walker, Digital Hub, Buzz) from May 14-16. If you’re wearing black, you get an instant 15% off when you buy the Marshall Pitch Black headphones.

To get a chance to win one for free (open only to Philippine residents), here’s what you have to do:

1. Like Digits Trading on Facebook
2. Follow Digits Trading on Twitter
3. Leave a comment here with your Twitter username (you must be following me so I can send a direct message to you. If you don’t know my Twitter username BAWAL KANG SUMALI haha)
4. ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. SPAMMERS ARE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED. (why am I shouting…?)
5. Winner will be chosen at random and announced by Saturday, May 19. Only followers of Digits Trading are qualified to win.

Good luck!

These kids look bored in the picture haha but trust me they’re not :p They were just serious about picking out the right combination for their Havaianas!

Choose your own charm

The color wheel (one of many!)

MYX VJ Bianca and Blogger Audrey

Always love bumping into Reggie!

REGINA

ETC’s Kim Jones

IC Mendoza and Divine Lee

Divine kicked off her heels and opted to wear her newly customized Havi’s!

Arkin’s new flip flops!

I took so long choosing my own pair

Who would’ve thought Basti Artadi would go to a Havaianas event? Cool!

Our other siblings couldn’t make it so we chose for them instead!

Jim made one for his mom for Mother’s Day <3 Don’t worry I doubt she reads my blog so I’m not ruining any surprises :p

Thanks to these two lovely girls for making my pair!

When it comes to Havaianas I like neutral (a.k.a. boring) colors haha so I got a sand base and brown straps with aviator charms para cool parin kahit papaano hehe. I leave the crazy colorful ones to my mother who has about 300 pairs and we share the same shoe size so… YAY!

Thanks, Havaianas! See you next year :)

Public run is from May 10-14 so head on over to the Rockwell tent! https://www.facebook.com/havaianasphilippines

The children were recently featured in a GMA 7 documentary, which exposed the extreme lack of learning materials and resources to provide the students with quality education. So extreme that they sit on the floor of a run-down structure that serves as a classroom and use banana leaves and “uling” as their pen and paper. Proceeds of the charity dinner will be used to buy school supplies, chairs, and tables for the new classroom that YesPinoy Foundation will be donating to the school.

There will be performances by the Philippine Institute for the Deaf and by Mr. Ogie Alcasid.

Project Mesa plates are at PhP 2000 each.

You may contact them by sending an e-mail to diksyonaryoatbp@gmail.com if you are interested :)

Look at this cute pair they sent me to wear tonight. It’s called a Havaianas Slim Geometric in Navy Blue.

It’s part of their new 2012 Embellished Collection.

This summer, Havaianas introduces new pairs which take the elegance of Havaianas Slim to the next level. The newest lines of the Havaianas Embellished Collection, exclusively offered in Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’s Shangri-La Plaza Mall, and Rustan’s Ayala Center Cebu, boast five limited edition styles that will only be available on 250 pairs of specially designed flip-flops, carefully fashioned to make an elegant statement in every Havaianatico’s carefree outfit.

Walking with Elegance

With prints and charms inspired by the famous bobbin lace handcrafted in Raposa, Brazil. Havaianas Slim Lace features elegant patterns attractively laid-out on its soft soles.

Of Dragonflies and Flowers

Ladies who are into minimal yet feminine embellishments will surely appreciate the understated elegance of Havaianas Slim Crystal Dragonfly and Havaianas Slim Crystal Harmony.

Graphic and Artistic

Discover one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites, Sao Luis in Brazil, and literally walk on it with Havaianas Slim Geometric. Its graphic patterns and metallic charm are inspired by the distinctly Portuguese tiles of Sao Luis.

Bejewelled Individuality

Havaianaticos who are into eccentric embellishments will surely enjoy sporting Havaianas Slim Hardware. Available in Grey and Rose Gold colors, the pairs are decorated with charms that come in various shapes, like skulls and cones or screws and pyramids, to really show off your individual style and character.

And because Havaianas is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Havaianas is packaging these limited edition pairs in exclusive navy blue clutch bags.