ChickDowntown Winner-Rand's Body Harness

So after an extensive and tedious process (a.k.a. writing all the names of the entries on paper and randomly drawing out the winning entry... sorry for my being technically inept, lol), we finally have a winner for the ChickDowntown.com-ChicInTheTropics giveaway!

Congratulations to.. (drumroll please) The Couture Cookie!

You're taking home a pair of these uber hot LNA Zipper Leggings courtesy of Chickdowntown.com. Congratulations!

also i'd like to thank those who did try with their entries. appreciate that a lot, girls.. hopefully there's still more to come!

For now I'll be leaving you with shots of Rand, a fierce Architecture student from the city, rocking one of my custom body harnesses with a basic white shirt and a moto jacket. Definitely killing it! I will be coming up with more posts, guys. Swear. and I'll be getting back to your comments as well.. Its been very busy. But hang on in there. xxoo

DIY DAY: Leather Cut-Out Top, MM-Inspired Bunny Ears

First off, let me just say that my current mood is as black as my lipstick.

Stephen Gately from Brit group Boyzone passed away yesterday at a very young age of 33. And it's NOT right. Just not. I swear, I spent a few good minutes earlier getting teared up while watching Boyzone videos. It may be totally irrelevant to some of you, but well, you know, I was a prepubescent 12-year-old once who religiously wrote fan letters and ruined cassette tapes from overplaying Stephen's singing parts... so yeah, he played an integral part in my childhood. Stephen, you will be missed.:(

Okay, moving on. I adored this silver bubble dress during its heyday, but of course that has long ago passed and this dress has just been sitting in my closet for quite a while. I actually love the material a lot, so I was really rocking my brain on what to do with it. I nipped the bubble garter off and voila- tank top! As some of you might know, I fell in love with Kimberly Ovitz's "business in the front, party at the back" cutout pieces for Fall, so I just took some spare leather strips and nuked the back. Totally love the result, but be prepared to do some sewing. Good luck!

The Maison Michel-inspired Bunny Ears are for my friend Aoi. Have fun with them!

I hope you all had a great weekend. I will be announcing my giveaway winner TOMORROW. Wheeeee.:)

The Birthday Bash Year 2: In Pictures

Guys, my sincere apologies for not having done my rounds with your blogs just yet, as per usual... I dunno, something's really up with my internet. Either its too slow or I always get disconnected. So while I have that looked into, puhleez bear with me.

I'd also like to remind my friends and readers in the US that my LNA Zipper Leggings giveaway courtesy of Chickdowntown is still very much open, so feel free to click here if you want to give it a shot.:)

So while we're all still reeling over all the fabulosity with the Spring shows, here's something absolutely off-course.. picture's from this year's wacky Birthday Bash that i threw with my homegirl Gladys. It was fun getting friends hammered, so yeah, we're doing it again next year!

I swear I'll be back on track ASAP with some new DIYs. Thanks and much love!

Gladys with the top that i DIYed for her

Back From a Very LONG Week

You still can... follow me on twitter

You can ALSO still join my giveaway here (US Residents only). I'm extending my giveaway for one more week!

So sorry for the hiatus. Thankfully, things are starting to fall back into place for everyone. Let's continue to pray for those who are affected though.

Just updating you on the stuff that went on over the weekend. Last Saturday I got to fraternize with native Deutsch speakers and got to practice on mein Deutsch when I emceed Sprach Institut-Cebu's Oktoberfest und Gedichte Abend (Poetry Reading Night). The German poems were certainly phantastisch (Though trust me, I still have a lot to learn)! That was quickly followed by a fun night with friends just dining and doing a bit of videoke.

Sunday was my good friend Kristine's (of StyleCebu) birthday celebration at her cousin Anton's Shabu-Way restaurant. Prior to the party, I had another emceeing gig, this time a short one at Ayala Center-Cebu. A night spent with friends over some really good shabu-shabu.. All in all, a lot of fun:)

How was your weekend? Vielen dank for the love!

the birthday girl and her guy Joven

the uber delicious offerings at Shabu-Way

Kristine, me and Paula

hosting at Ayala Center-Cebu.. and wearing the DIY thigh-high boot spats

with Gladys, Aoi, Barbie and Faye at MOOON

with some students and administrators of Sprach Institut-Cebu

wearing an old gray shirt turned into a tank, a New Look black tank, sequined blazer and DIY body harness

Let's Make a Difference

Regular blogging programming will resume next week. Please bear with me.

For now I just can't bring myself to blogging about fashion and my usual "day-to-day" life when this heartbreaking tragedy is still very fresh here in my country. We here in Cebu are not directly hit by it, but our hearts do go out to the hundreds who did not see this coming and who definitely did not deserve such ill fate. For now I'm just really focusing my attention on however I can help and whatever I can tangibly give. It won't be much, but here's to hoping that it will go a long way.

A lot of the victims still have no access to necessities like food, clothing, footwear and even potable water. If you are in Cebu and wish to drop off donations in kind, you can check out an extensive list of drop-off centers HERE. Also don't forget to check out Outpost's and Vudu's Live Aid events on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

For my site visitors abroad who also wish to help, you can do so by getting in touch with the Red Cross in your country.

With our small ways we can make a world of difference.

An Urgent Cry for Help: Help the Victims of Typhoon Ketsana

This is off my regular blog programming, but this matter is of the essence and we all need to act upon it and do our part (no matter how little) to shed light on the plight of the victims. Just using my blog as a humble vehicle so that I may be able to bring your attention into it as well, and I hope i am successfully able to do that.

Last night while a lot of us having our regular weekend, Manila and a lot of neighboring parts in Luzon suffered a terrible fate as Typhoon Ketsana rolled in and virtually landslided and or/flooded over most parts of the area. It's not looking good at all.

To quote from the AP:

"...Rescuers plucked bodies from muddy floodwaters and saved drenched survivors from rooftops Sunday after atropical storm tore through the northern Philippines and left at least 106 people dead and missing...

..Tropical Storm Ketsana roared across the northern Philippines on Saturday, dumping more than a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours. More than 330,000 people were affected by storm, including some 59,000 people who were brought to about 100 schools, churches and other evacuation shelters, officials said."

The search and rescue operations are still ongoing, and authorities are expecting to add more figures to the death toll. Scores of people have been displaced from their homes, having their properties completely buried by mud. It is a time to be one in action, and all our thoughts and prayers would count.

Every little bit of what we can pledge also helps. Currently most of the victims have no access to food or water as well. If you are living abroad and wish to aid via donation, you can course it through TXTPower's Paypal. Meanwhile, do course through most national bodies (DOH, PNRC, PAGASA, etc) for all local help.

Let's help each other out in this time of need.

**images courtesy of MSNBC, and Getty Images.. special thanks to Leah

Work in Progress, "TBL" Canned

if you want to you can...follow me on twitter

for my friends and readers in the US, you can still join my giveaway here

So loves,

* I'll be on track with replying to your comments very shortly. My hands are currently tied up with planning the uber-late "birthday" party that i'm throwing with my friend Gladys Lee (she was born on the 18th) tonight. just us, friends (and their friends, uh oh), and some drinks.. haha! sorry guys. no worries, i'm not advocating alcoholism or anything. and i swear, i'll be a total teetotaler (try saying that over and over lol) right after this. :)

* Here's a sneak peek of a top that i'm DIYing for her tonight. yep it looks like a hot mess now, but i think it should be wearable (in the very least) by tonight. Girlfriend's gotta look smokin'!

*And in some sad TV news, The Beautiful Life just got cancelled. Weird, cuz i totally dreamt it this morning. Ugh, guess I spoke too soon.

Have a fierce weekend, all!