Obsession du Jour - IKEA Maskros Lamp

I don't have the ideal spot to hang it yet. Hell, I don't even have the house that would have the ceiling that would have the ideal spot to hang it! But one thing is for sure: I want this lamp.

Meanwhile, I feed my obsession with some ideas on how to display this work of art. Wedding blogs good-bye, hello interior design!

Wisdom #3

Maid of honor

This was the speech my sister did during our wedding, which was the only instance during the entire day/night that I was more than teary-eyed, I was balling.

And here I am today, 2 months after I heard this speech for the first time, getting all teary again just copy-pasting it in the blog editor and reading her words all over again...

She was my maid-of-honor at my wedding. The word fits as I am honored to have her as my sister (not my maid!).

How beautiful you are in that gorgeous white gown. How happy you looked walking down the aisle. As I watch you drink champagne and eat your wedding cake, I see the joy in your eyes. Since I live so far away, I can't always be there to help you through the hard times, I wish I could bottle the love between you and Doodoo, wrap it up and give it to you as a wedding gift.

Then you could take it out on a rainy day and be right back here, in this place, eating and laughing and dancing with everyone. But I don’t think you’ll need such a bottle. The reminders of this special day will be all around you : in the photo album or in the picture frame you’ll have in your new house but especially in the shining band you wear on your finger every day. Use these reminders as a source of comfort and strength during the hard times. And let them bring a brighter smile to your faces in times of happiness.

To my big sister : You were always there to lead the way for me. I wish I could say you showed me around on my first day of school but you were more the « Oh my god, my sister is here… »-type. You also never helped me with my homework, since I was always smart enough to figure it out myself.

You never taught me how to put on makeup or paint my nails, because I was always girlier than you and you never covered for me when I came in late from a date because you always felt you had to protect me from bad boys since you had to counsel me through my first heartbreak.

Even when you moved out to go to college, you were still looking out for me, traveling many miles to be home for my birthday. And today you are still leading the way ; shining a light on the path of love and marriage, showing me how its done and, sometimes, what not to do. When I look at you and Doodoo I somehow feel safer. I don’t know if I can explain that, but you give me hope. And I’m afraid to say it out loud because maybe if life finds out it’ll try to beat it out of you and that would be a shame. Because, we can all use a little hope sometimes. That feeling that everything’s going to be okay and that there’s going to be someone there to help make sure of that.

How wonderful it is to see that you found the perfect man for you. I was proud to stand by your side and when you said « I do ». You took a big step towards your future today, and, in turn, gave me the gift of a new brother. The fun and sometimes hard times during your engagement and the happiness of this day bring us even closer together. I know that if either one of us is in pain, we will always be there to comfort each other.

Remember tonight, for it is the beginning of always. A promise. Like a reward for persisting through life so long alone. A belief in each other and the possibility of love. A decision to ignore, simply rise above the pain of the past. A covenant, which at once binds two souls and yet severs prior ties. A celebration of the chance taken and the challenge that lies ahead. For two will always be stronger than one, lke a team braced against the tempest civil world. And love will always be the guiding force in our lives. For tonight is mere formality. Only an announcement to the world of feelings long held. Promises made long ago. In the sacred spaces of our hearts.

As you begin this new chapter in your life, I will still look to you for guidance because you helped me get this far. How blessed I am to have a big sister like you!

I love you!

Obsession du Jour - Michael Kors Berkley Clutch

I first saw you out of the corner of my eye rushing through La Rinasciente in Milan. I was too much of in a hurry to make a decision and just left you there. I forgot about you for a while, but then I remembered... It was too late. I had no time to go back to the store and left for Munich saddened at the thought to have missed the opportunity to make you mine.

I found out that you might be available in Munich though and a jolt of hope ran through my body.

On a bright sunny winter day, I entered the boutique and looked for you. I scanned through the shelves but you were no where to be found. The saleslady eventually told me that you wouldn't arrive 'til May. I gathered that we were simply not meant to be.

I moved on, burying my need for you deep down inside. Work brought me to Dubai a few days later and busy as a bee, I had everything but you on my mind. My last night in town, I decided to spend some time at the Dubai Mall. I wandered around, amazed at the window displays, one more beautiful than the other, the giant aquarium and its sting rays... And then, here it was again. A glimmer of hope when I saw the Michael Kors sign amidst the many other designer store surrounding the fashionable Armani Café. I immediately saw you upon entering. Black, white, gold, bronze, pink... What color to choose? You were so pretty. So classy.

Today you lie on my closet, waiting for yet another day for me to bring you out, making me look fabulous yet understated. I'm glad I chased you across the globe.

Wisdom #2

Paris, mon amour

City of lights, city of love - Paris has always been one of my favorite travel destination. Stroll along the Seine, sit and sip an apéro at a café, people watch, have a baguette with brie on the Pont-des-Arts bridge, discover little nooks and streets... It's a hustle and bustle cosmopolite city, full of tourists, busy people, pollution and yet it's full of art, history, architecture, gardens and parks and so much more to take in. It's a conflicted city. A place that has helped me gather my thoughts, find myself again when I felt lost and give me hope.

My little sister lives and works in Paris. Her Paris experience is slightly different. While my relationship to the City of Lights has always been short-lived, like a summer fling, she is in it hard, committed and for lack of a better word stuck. Appearances can be deceiving and what looks like a picture perfect from the outside, often hides dark secrets. Just like not everything that seems hopeless really ends up to be. Case in point: I live in a corrupted Third World country, ruled by a medieval Catholic Church, with one of the highest population densities on this planet, short-term urban planning, lack of environmental awareness and the list goes on and on and on.... and yet, I am happy here. It helps that I have a wonderful husband, but moreover I have learned over the past 5 years of living away from the town I grew up in and called home, to focus on the good things. I spent years accepting Manila as my new home, often crying myself into sleep, wanting why I didn't have here. Today, I appreciate it for what it is. The good, the bad, the ugly. Just like in a love relationship, the relationship with your city is something that you need to work on. Every day. So this if for my little sister: when the going gets rough, look at Paris through my eyes and focus on the beautiful side of it:

via vimeo

Wisdom #1

via frenchbydesign