Archive for June, 2010
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Contrary to western beliefs, the Bridal season in the Philippines is not in June but begins in September, peaks in December through January and ends in Feb. However there are still a lot of brides who opt to get married in the “wedding” month of June. This month I am fortunate to be working on a couple of brides. Two of which decided to get married on the same day, barely 2 hours apart.
I Love Peonies! They are my most favorite flower!
You can just imagine how much of a whirling dervish I was on that day. My first bride walked the Aisle at 2pm while my second bride walked at around 330pm. Good thing that there was zero traffic because I was zipping back and forth from Makati to Quezon city the whole day! LOL! Here are some photos from my beautiful brides.
Check out My Maid of Honor Candy Sing Esteban and Tiny Kimmy Lauren Esteban as flower girl! I really liked the clarity of this Aqua shade it is crisp and very flattering!
This is my first Bride Cherie Sing. She wanted a very textured dress. I wanted something really light but still retaining the high texture.
- I love dressing up my brides on their special day, it makes my work so enjoyable as I am part of their memories forever.
The beautiful Haw women. That is the Mother of the Bride, she has such beautiful skin.
I love how the hem of the skirt moves, it makes this whole look so modern.
I love how the hem of the skirt moves, it makes this whole look so modern.
Cherie striking a pose! LOL!
A tender moment as the Mother gives her daughter her flowers.
I just made in time to assist me second bride Mindy See. She wanted something super simple and minimal. I told her I wanted to make her back really interesting and sparkly! LOL!
The back had lots of clear crystals and glass beads!
My dear Friend Jessie Mendez who is practically an icon in the beauty world did her hair and make up! I remember asking him if he would take my sister Gela as his apprentice way back when. He was so kind enough to take her under his wing. For this I am eternally grateful.
I then rushed back to the first wedding just in time to see the entourage march down. I love the Grecian theme with all the ladies sporting various necklines and subtle differences in the turquoise/aqua color theme.
Minutes before walking down the aisle, this is the most exciting moment.
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HUGS!
RAJO!
Tags: Brides, fashion, rajo laurel
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Monday, June 28th, 2010
I was so tickled pink when Ms. Shalani Soledad asked me to design her gown for the swearing in of her boyfriend. Unless your living under a rock you would know that Shalani is the girlfriend of our incoming President of the Republic of the Philippines! I have never really met her before and I only get to see her on TV or in the newspapers. I was so mesmerized by her beauty! She is STUNNING!
She was just a breath of fresh air! Such a really lovely woman. So nice but a bit on the shy side. I did a couple of studies for her until she decided on one. I am showing the sketches of the Ternos that she did not choose and will leave the final as a surprise! LOL!
Tags: fashion, noy noy aquino, rajo laurel, shalani soledad
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Monday, June 28th, 2010
Leave it to my dear friend Malu Gamboa to sniff out one of the best Mexican cantinas we have in the metropolis! After our Legally Blonde show we all were famished! Malu loves Mexican food! So I really trust her when it comes to this cuisine. The place was really close to the Ortigas area and we gave it a go.
Looking at this just makes me hungry!
The place is called TJ’s Tijuana Mexican grill! It is a quaint little place located in a corner of the City Golf Plaza ( weird name?! LOL!) Our waiter was one of the best that I have ever experienced. Well informed, gracious and quite charming. A rarity now a days! Come to think of it, the entire staff was pretty good! We Pinoys have the best smiles!
The quaint interiors! They open late till 3am!
We ordered immediately! Some Nachos, Burito’s ,chicken tenders and a fish taco! Then we had some lovely frozen margaritas to go with the meal! The meal arrived within minutes! Everything was excellent except for the Chicken Tenders which were drenched with fat and the oil oozing out of the basket! NOT PRETTY!
- Nix ready to dive in! LOL!
- Our lovely Margaritas
- Cheers!
The rest of the meal was wonderful and we all really enjoyed it! The waiter gave us extra nachos to boot! I love this place because when Nix’s margarita was not to his liking the waiter changed it immediately without hesitation. You don’t get that in Manila too often. Making this place a winner to me! If you’re all looking for your Mexican fix then head on over to TJ’s. I hear they have a branch in Makati, but I forgot the area.
This was a bit hard to eat! Double fried chicken skin with a ton of oil! Avoid this at all cost if you wish to live longer! LOL! I am sure it tastes great but it will clog up your arteries big time!
A yummy and healthy alternative, a grilled fish taco.
This is their regular burrito! It was nicely done.
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HUGS!
RAJO!
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TJ’s Tijuana Mexican Grill
City Golf Plaza Ortigas, Pasig City
Brngy Ugong
tel. 02-4706179
Tags: fashion, food, Malu Gamboa, Nix Alanon, rajo laurel, tjs tijuana mexican grill
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Saturday, June 26th, 2010
You all know that I am a child of the theater! I mean I grew up on show tunes and musicals! LOL! So when I got my invites to the preview of LEGALLY BLONDE! I blocked my calendar with a PINK MARKER! LOL!
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I Have not seen the musical and I was really looking forward to the show. It is brought to the Philippines by Atlantis production and they have always given me a wonderful theater experience.
Bobby Garcia and Chari Arespacochaga of Atlantis! BRAVO! BRAVO!
The Play was really really entertaining! The cast is so good! Nikki Gil was a revelation! She sang so well and I felt that she was indeed Elle Woods! Despite a few technical glitches which I think will disappear in a few more shows it was a really fun show!
The talented Mio Infante who designed the sets! It was really fun to see how many variations on the them he could pull off.
We all wore pink to the preview!
The pink lit stage! I was not allowed to do this, but I could not help myself.
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I really think that you all should take time out to see it! It is only going to be shown for a few weeks and it will be such a waste if you do not get to see the show! You will see brand new faces in the theater like Geneva Cruz who is so TIGHT that she left me inspired to do more sit ups! LOL! My cousins Yanna Laurel and Joel Trinidad are also part of the cast and they were just sensational! I am so happy that our theater scene is alive! Go and see LEGALLY BLONDE! Wear pink for extra fun! We all did!
During the intermission I always try to look for the giant fish in the pond of Meralco! It has been there for years and it is as big as an adult! I like the fact that they now light the pond in this freaky green hue that just adds to the fear factor. That is just the tail! EERIE......
The curtain call! Please forgive me ATLANTIS for taking photos! (the set it is an explosion of PINK-ness! LOL!) I just wanted my blog entry to have some juicy bits in them! Tee hee! Remember readers! No cameras and phones please!
On the way out of Meralco I spotted some ROBOTS! OMG!!! TRANSFORMERS????!!! You really see the most dandy things now a days! Just keep your eyes open.
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HUGS!
RAJO!
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PS. Bring a jacket or a shaw to the Meralco theater as it was FREEZING!!!! I kid you not when I say this! It felt like Siberia in there!
Tags: atlantis productions, elle woods, joel trinidad, legally blonde, meralco theater, musical, nikki gil, rajo laurel, theatre, yana laurel
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Friday, June 25th, 2010
I am super excited to share with all of you the photos from the launch of my newest project with Rags2rRiches! It is called the Tree Bag Project!
Presenting....MY TREEBAG!!!!
The packaging! All eco-friedly!
We launched the bag in the very posh Travel Cafe at Greenbelt 5!
The Travel Cafe was so kind to lend us their beautiful space.
It was a lovely gathering of people all supporting this beautiful cause. What makes this project even more significant is that we have fused 4 communities in creation of the bag. We have the weavers of Abra who created the linen fabric of the bag made from scrap thread. Then we have the women of Payatas who braided the handle made from scrap fabric . Then we have the wood carvers of Banglos who created all the wood elements in the bag also from scrap wood. The bag is then sewn in Cebu using out of work factory workers due to the recession. The bags are then shipped back to Manila so that the Rags2Riches team do their quality control, labeling, inventory, costing and packaging!
- Some of the Nanays were there!
The full line! I think that it is so chic?!
One of the biggest bonus of the bag is that for each bag that is bought a tree is planted in a watershed to fight against deforestation! A portion of the sales go to this cause! So really EVERYBODY WINS!!!! Right now the bag will be available in my store the
House of Laurel as well as the home website of
rags2riches.ph.
Guests were encouraged to sign our tree board.
The great news is that we have already orders from ECO stores in Singapore, Hong Kong and Zurich( all totalling 250 bags) meaning more work and jobs for the communities. We are still working for more areas of distribution and I expect the bags to be sold in
Firma and the
Echostore in the Fort. If anyone else is interested in buying or distributing the TreeBag please email our R2R president
Reese Fernandes at
reese.fernadez@gmail.com I am certan that she will be more than welcome to help you!
Spotted my beautiful friend Amina Aranaz-Alunan with her son Lucas. She too has lent her invaluable talents to the program. My wish is more people could help us develop more ideas and designs! Paging all the talented designers out there?!!!!!
Lucas is sooooo cute!!!!!
The party scene!
They had a lovely video to start the program.
We started the program with a moving poetry reading by members of the R2R team! I really liked that touch.
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I encourage all of you to PAY IT FORWARD! There is a lot one person can do all it takes in one teeny tiny nudge for an avalanche of miracles to happen!
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BIG HUGS!
RAJO!
Tags: amina aranaz alunan, fashion, house of laurel, r2r, Rags2rRiches, rajo laurel, Reese Fernandes, riir, tree bag project
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Friday, June 25th, 2010
I just received this email and it really made me think? I think it was a really cool experiment and it makes me wonder what I would do in the same situation? Honestly I would probably stop for a few minutes and move along as being in the Subway often creeps me out! LOL! However PERCEPTION is a very powerful thing.
. . . Something To Think About . . .
THE SITUATION
In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
About 4 minutes later
The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
At 6 minutes
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
At 10 minutes
A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception – forced their children to move on quickly.
At 45 minutes
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After 1 hour
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognitionat all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .
How many other things are we have been missing as we rush through life?
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Have a great day ahead!
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HUGS!
RAJO!
Tags: fashion, rajo laurel
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Friday, June 25th, 2010
I have a confession to make! For several months now I have been holding back from joining
Twitter, the reason being that I already have so many things on my plate!
My work alone takes up most of my time then I have my blog, which I am very passionate about. If I do not have one entry a day I get really depressed! LOL! Thing is
Nix is on
Twitter and I really got so envious with all the updates and the news.
Tags: rajo laurel, Twitter
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Thursday, June 24th, 2010
I recently had the wonderful experience of going on a “couples weekend” retreat in tagaytay! We were all invited to the family home of Rosanna Ocampo. We were celebrating the engagement of Rosanna and her beau Marco Rodriguez! YAHOO!!!
Love is in the air!!!! Rosanna and Marco!
(more…)
Tags: Discovery Country Suites, enrique valles, isha andaya, Leo Po, marco rodriguez, Marielle Po, rajo laurel, Rosanna Ocampo, verbena
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Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Each year I take all my staff and employees to a summer get away! I have always believed that one should balance work with play and this makes the work environment have a healthier atmosphere. This year we all went to the Caylabne Bay resort. I have not been to Caylabne in like forever and I am glad that it still looks great after all these years.
This sign made me smile! Thank you Caylabne!
(more…)
Tags: caylabne, house of laurel, rajo laurel
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Monday, June 21st, 2010
I was recently invited to the 60th anniversary bash of GMA! It was held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Tags: 60th anniversary, Celia Rodriguez, Dolce & Gabbana, Edwin Tan, Fabio Ide, fashion, Geoff Eigenmann, German Moreno, gma, Heart Evangelista, Kuh Ledesma, Mark Anthony Fernandez, Michael V, Ogie Alcasid, Pia Guanio, rajo laurel, Raymond Guttierez, Regine Velasquez, Rhian Ramos, tim yap, Vera Wang
Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments »
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