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I'm not really into parading all my purchases in this blog... except if its a really good deal. Not being selfish or secretive. I guess I just don't want anyone to do the math and figure out how much I spend. LOL. I do get some PR samples and sometimes gifts. And if and when I do write about them, I indicate that it's from a PR kit. If I really like it then I rave about it. One of these days I'm going to have to figure out a system to deal with PR and advertisers. I do appreciate the attention and interest in my blog, and it is growing; we'll just have to find a workable middle ground for the benefit of my readers. Everything else here remains my own personal "diary."

Moving on... there are quite a few inquiries about where I bought this and that. I was a bit shy to reveal at first, but here are some of the pieces you've asked about


The sunglasses



Some flickr friends asked about these sunglasses. I wore them at the Sofitel balcony (holding on to Stella and stayed a safe distance from the edge).


They are made by Nina Ricci. I first saw them in January 2009 when I met the distributors of Lanvin eyewear. I ordered the Lanvin strass eyewear and also asked for this pair of green big shades by Nina Ricci.

I've mentioned before that I have a "thing" for designer sunglasses. Not because they're "designer" but because they really are made better. My eyes are very snooty. They get sick when they wear cheap sunglasses (read: I get nauseous and dizzy). Could be the result of Lasik surgery from years ago? But really, better eyewear is expensive because of the R&D and technology that goes into those fancy shades. I have a amassed collected a few pieces. But just like in any collection, there are just one or two that become favourites. They're all big. I can't wear small and aviator styles. They don't look good on me.



These have become my favourite everyday pair by Nina Ricci.


I got my pair in January, 2009. It was from the main guy's maleta. They hadn't gone into distribution yet. These were samples. But I couldn't wait. So I got the "advanced" sample. My case arrived three months later. By February style.com reported on it. This exact Nina Ricci style was a re-issue of Jackie O's sunglasses. And you know I have a thing for Jackie. So that was a big bonus.



The Nina Ricci Jackie O eyewear


I don't know where they sell them or if they still have them locally. Last August, I saw them in the window of that optical shop beside Cibo in Glorietta. That was the first time it dawned on me that my shades were Jackie's too.



Nina Ricci re-issue of Jackie's eyewear.



The white dress


I didn't want to mention where I got this because this store doesn't need any further endorsements. And as it is I already spend too much there. And I'm annoyed that my Citibank Rustan's & SSI credit card doesn't "work" there (read: I get no points or rebates even if it's SSI). But too many emailers have asked. So I'll reveal...



From Celebrity Living December 2009, Photo by Cyrus Panganiban


This white lace dress is just from Zara, Fall 09. It's pretty, alright. But I have to warn you, it's not the easiest dress to wear. It can be very unforgiving. High waist, big arm hole, extra fabric on the arms. I feel fatter than I really am when I wear this. They had it in black too, maybe that's better.


These shoes



I cant' find a tight shot of the shoes.

These shoes are by Marni current collection. Got them in Adora. A bit higher priced than online stores (and they're probably on sale in the US now). But in Adora you get a 5-10-20% rebate on designer goods. There's a complicated calculation. So just ask first before you buy.




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I'm back in business. And now I miss the hustle and bustle of Christmas. Yesterday I did my usual non-negotiable routine - derma cleaning (every two weeks), Stott pilates (2-3 times a week) and I squeezed in a shampoo-blowdry as a treat (not enough). I've got three blog entries going... they're unfinished in my Notes in the iPhone. A magazine came in to shoot the girls' bedroom this morning. I cooked my version of shepherd's pie with chicken, corn, carrots and lots of cream and cheese. It's still in the oven. We'll eat in 10 minutes. Then in the afternoon I'm jetting off to shoot a house in Alabang. I'll be back by dinner.

I love having the kids at home. Can't they just skip grade school altogether? We really had a nice time the day after Christmas. We went to Fort Santiago, rode a calesa, ate at Aristocrat and watched the sunset. Here are some scenes.



Interesting public art... Sophia likes to "interact" with art



Dancing



Lily didn't want to get up



Stella and me.


I love these photos. All shot by my husband using the Ricoh GX200. Not meant to be a plug... I just wanted to mention it because I'm shopping for a new camera to add to my compact camera "collection."

Back to Manila... I love it there. Why don't we do this sunset thing again... regularly?






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Decided to remove single-issue comics from my list, never mind if deflation ensues.

1. Barrel Fever - David Sedaris
2. Deadly Decisions - Kathy Reichs
3. Glamour Games - Anna Ishikawa
4. A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby
5. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
6. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
7. Gossip Girl: All I Want is Everything - Cecily von Ziegesar
8. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
9. Diary - Chuck Palahniuk
10. The Au Pairs: Sun-kissed - Melissa Dela Cruz
11. Fatal Voyage - Kathy Reichs
12. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
13. Every Girl's Guide to Heartache - Marla Miniano
14. Watchmen - Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
15. Shoes Off! - Katrina Ramos Atienza
16. Emma - Jane Austen
17. Crave - Cathy Yardley
18. Slaughter-House Five - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
19. The Rachel Papers - Martin Amis
20. Trese: Mass Murders - Budjette Tan/Kajo Baldissimo
21. How Mookie Got a Life - Abi Malonzo
22. 12 Steps to Quitting AJ - Faye Ilogon
23. The World for Lost Beings - Miriam Delos Santos
24. The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga
25. Every Girl's Guide to Boys - Marla Miniano
26. Next - Michael Crichton
27. Gossip Girl: Because I'm Worth It - Cecily von Ziegesar

Stuff I finally read
Loved The Lovely Bones, and now can no longer say that I dislike "rural America" novels. The Handmaid's Tale was underwhelming. Watchmen was a great experience, although I wish I didn't read it so soon after seeing the movie. The Picture of Dorian Gray was kickass. Surprised at how I liked Emma, and how I wasn't completely lost while reading Slaughter-House Five.

Stuff I read because of previous happy experience with author
Barrel Fever was fine, but ultimately not as memorable. I'm now annoyed with how Kathy Reichs breaks up her chapters, but can bear with it as long as I get my Andrew Ryan fix. A Thousand Splendid Suns, again, was fascinating because of Afghanistan (and not the prose). A Long Way Down was blah, may have to accept that I am not a Nick Hornby fan. Next was not Michael Crichton's best, although he shook his fist as indignantly as ever. Buti na lang I have Great Train Robbery still unread.

Chick stuff
Super pleased that Gossip Girl's become cheaper, and that older versions are appearing in Booksale. I plan to finish the entire series. Also tried Au Pairs by Melissa Dela Cruz. Not a series I'll be following, but I already have an eye on her Blue Bloods books. I use "the author is Pinoy" to justify my interest in reading yet another teen vampire story.

Pinoy stuff
Read a LOT of local chicklit, and though I may not like all of them, I appreciate that they're there. There should be more even. Miriam Delos Santos' World for Lost Beings reminded me of philo readings but in a good way. Trese: Mass Murders was hands down one of the best I'd read this year, and will gladly give the Trese books as gifts to anyone sorta interested but needs a push.

Stuff I took a chance on
I may have loved Fight Club (the movie), but I don't know if I'm into Chuck Palahniuk. Feel the same way about Martin Amis, but should probably read one more just to check. Crave: The Seduction of Snow White was a fail, both as erotica and as a fairy tale retelling. Best of the bunch: Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger. (It got a plus in my book when, post-reading, I confirmed with a South Indian acquaintance if the tea/coffee North/South thing was true and he said it was.)

Starting on: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Yeah!

Late but still wanted to greet everyone...
( A very... )
Merry Christmas :D

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Sorry for the late greetings and cards. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

Have we all recovered from the late nights? Why does Noche Buena have to be at midnight anyway? Or is it like that just with our family? How did you celebrate Christmas?

Today we "toured" Manila - lunch at Aristocrat (nothing can be yummier than Aristocrat chicken), walked around Fort Santiago, rode a calesa and watched the sunset at Manila Bay. We brought all the house staff with us. I miss my family, the one I was born in to. I really do miss them a lot. But having my own family with me and doing a big hug with all five of us in Patrick arms during sunset was fun. Sorry for the cheesiness. We are like that. We like mush. And we love sunsets. I'm just glad none of the kids fell off the ledge into Manila Bay. We were all thrilled and excited.

Thank you for sticking around and reading my blog. It's been a special kind of fun for me -- writing this blog and hearing from you guys.

Here's a little something from our family to yours... good wishes!










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I hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas. We did.

I'm exhausted. Noche buena with the Osena relatives lasted til past 3am at our house. I hosted. Then I had to wrap Santa's presents and put them where he usually leaves them (at the top of the stairs). Then we had Christmas lunch at our house with my husband's family. I hosted again.

I'm going to bed early.

More stories tomorrow.

Hope you all got your Christmas wishes granted.






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Through your generous support for the Little RED Schoolbag Project, Coca-Cola Foundation has been able to produce over 1,500 bags made from our company's old tarpaulin banners into reusable, weather-proof bags by the women of Earth Day Village.

The proceeds from this project will continue to be used for the rehabilitation of the Little RED Schoolhouses damaged by recent typhoons.

Want a Little RED Schoolbag, help repair a school, provide livelihood for a women's community, and save the environment? Send me a PM, text, or email to donate to the Little RED Schoolbag project!

The shark annual diary/planner is apparently a sought-after gift. I didn't know this, until I told krude that one of the people I work with gave me two (a large and small version) for Christmas.

He went, "Wow, you're lucky! That's a sought-after gift." And then I went, "Oh really? Then I probably shouldn't have left them lying on top of my desk."

This morning when I came in, only the large version was still there. The small one was gone.

*shakes fist at grabby handed planner-hungry person*

This is related to my personal belief that increasing salaries will not prevent corruption or petty thievery. If a person is so inclined to take what is not theirs, whatever they have will never be enough.

I console myself with knowing that the little 2010 calendar I bought at National Bookstore (for 20 pesos or less) is so much cuter anyway.

1. Cookie.
Happy birthday. And I'm seriously thinking of donating to www.braintumorcommunity.org because you asked. I also like that you use words like "tonic" and "cure-all" because we do too and I like to think of you as One Of Us.

2. Banks that are open until 6-ish
I have vague memories of lining up on my lunch break and being mad at tellers for taking so long, but now I'm strictly a 4:30-ish banker. Don't change!

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A couple of weeks ago, my friend Claudelle gave me my first pair of Toms. I've been reading about these shoes since last year. It's a huge success story! If you buy a pair of Toms, the company will give a pair to a child in need in South America and Africa. This is their website.

I have to admit, I didn't want to fall prey into this marketing strategy. a) I'm not a fan of ethnic-looking shoes, and b) there are millions of children in the Philippines who need shoes (not slippers... shoes). So I figured, if I really wanted to make a difference, I'd take the money and buy shoes for 100 children instead. Well, I haven't done that yet.

Last week I finally gave my Toms a try. I couldn't believe it. They were so comfortable. And ... they looked good! They weren't so ugly after all. They really looked good. Mine came in brownish houndstooth material with orange soles and a small orange elastic strip. It actually looked...chic.



My Toms


Not so subtle branding. But cute.



Remember this photo of me and Stelly-belly? I wore them off-cam after shooting UZ.


Okay, I know I have far from the tree-hugger earth-mother style (even though I love Birkenstock). But Toms is quite flexible style-wise. And because my pair, I assume, is from the dressier line I was able to wear it with a white dress. I even wore it to UZ taping when we shot the bedroom giveaway. I'm now thinking of getting a pair for Patrick.

Toms is available at NOTHING BUT WATER at Trinoma, Robinsons Galleria, Glorietta 3, Alabang Town Center and D' Mall in Boracay. And in SWIM at The Powerplant Mall Rockwell and D' Mall in Boracay. For more information about finding them locally go to their facebook page: Tom's Philippines.


Toms Christmas message:




Here's the history of Toms shoes:






Now I wonder, how can we convince Toms to drop their next 10,000 pairs of shoes here in the Philippines? Filipino children need shoes too.







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2009's Big Trip was not Europe (as planned three years ago) but a visit to the US West/Southwest instead.

Why the change? Philippine Airlines had a freaking sale. $584 round-trip Manila to LA, baby! As I've learned recently with all these airline sales, Pinoys will travel anywhere given a cheap enough ticket. European airlines, please go on sale. :)

( MNL-LAX-IAH-LAS-LGB/LAX-MNL )

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Received a PR kit-slash-Christmas gift from Lush. Pretty packaging with lots of yummy treats inside.






Snowcake soap



Christmas Candy Cane Bubble BAr


Jolly Holly Days (Php1,995) … a good one for those who may not celebrate Christmas, but like a good celebration anyway! Contains Rub Rub Rub stimulating sea salt shower gel and The Olive Branch shower gel with olive oil and mandarin juice; the new Sexy Boy massage bar, made with softening cocoa and shea butters and almond oil; Sugar Scrub to scrub away the excesses of the season; minty and refreshing Ice Blue soap (100g); and a Too Drunk emotibomb, to wake you up the morning after the night before.



Four more days til Christmas. If you're in a panic, Lush has gift sets starting at P495. And they're already all wrapped up.


In the Philippines, Lush is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI) and is located at Glorietta 4, Power Plant Mall, Shangri-La Mall, Greenbelt 3, Mall of Asia, and Bonifacio High Street. You may also visit us online at www.lush.com.ph






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I've known Angel for a long long time. I know this story. She's told me many times. Seeing and hearing it again through the lens of Lee Meily brings a different impact. To say Angel is the kindest and most gentle soul is an understatement. Angel has no mean bone in her body.

She's always generous - not just in material ways. About nine years ago when we were the hosts of F, we shot our first commercial together, Angel coached me on how to smile with my eyes, how to lock my jaw and let the corner of my lips curl up gently, and how to stand like a "model." She even helped me practice when no one was looking. See, I got to be a TV host without ever having to pose for "model shots," I didn't even have a portfolio. But Angel, modeling being beautiful came second nature to her. She just is. She doesn't even have to pose. The reason I'm sharing this is because in our highly competitive industry, sharing of trade secrets, coaching and mentoring by peers is really out of the ordinary.

For as long as I've known her Angel has always wanted to give back and make a difference. She's always been willing to lend her name and face to causes and organizations while I've been more cautious and conscious - (what are the programs, can I read the project brief, how will my involvement matter, I don't like "dole outs" I want capacity-building, training etc). But I think Angel doesn't need to look far to make a difference. Just by telling her story... she can touch millions of lives.

I hope Tulong Dunong continues to sponsor children and give scholarships.

Here are some behind-the-scenes:






Via: Joel Cruz' facebook (not the one with billboards)
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Is anyone STRESSING out yet?

My head is mush. I get sleepy by 10pm.

I skipped all the holiday parties this season - including/especially all those high profile formal balls/events. Maybe in a few months I'll feel up to socializing. Sad that I missed Cecile's annual bingo. The hubby was sick. Bingo exhilarates me. I was her grand champ in 2007. I still remember that moment in slow mo. Haha.

A few days ago I had 101 things to do. It was one of those hectic days. Until someone Patrick reminded me of what was important... So I slowed down.



So I started documenting Lily's drawings. She loves drawing girls with fancy lashes. They're in my facebook and Twitter (DaphneOP). Christine Duque says "because at a young age, Lily already knows the power of false lashes. Mabuhay ka Lily." I call her series "Little Miss Lily" because it really resembles Miss Marc.


Today I was supposed to shoot segments for my show. Pre-holiday stress was on maximum level amongst my peers. It reached a point of no return. Nothing could be done about the situation - stress, ego, traffic, logistics. So I just took a deep breath, cancelled the shoot and now I'm home doing what's most important. Had the longest lunch with the family, played nativity scene with my daughters (Soph was Mama Mary, Lily was the Angel and Stella was the baby). Half my gifts are undelivered. Maybe later I will brave the traffic...

In other news...

I'm so happy with the way my designs are turning out. My little elves deserve a nice Christmas gift. They work so well with my designs even though I can't draw with precision. I will post photos of my new necklaces soon. Or check them out in Accessory Lab next week.

I just saw the nicest Christmas decor set up at the Sofitel. It's so classy. They always have the best lobby displays. I'm really loving Sofitel right now. My parents and I rediscovered it last Fall (not that we have Fall here). I love how grand and Filipino it looks with its original 70's architecture yet everything has stepped up many notches. The food, service, interior design, the people. More on Sofitel later...



Christmas at Sofitel Philippine Plaza. I love their decor. No glitter - just silver wire, tassels and white lights. Classy.



Cranky Stella at Sofitel lobby. I shot at the Sofitel yesterday and she tagged along.


Stella is turning 5 months in a couple of weeks. She devoured all the milk we had in storage. I was so confident about my milk bank (frozen breast milk) until last week when my maid said that there were only 3 bags left in the freezer. Whoa?! I've been producing just as much since day 1. But there's no reason to panic. Stella has been going with me to all my shoots, meetings, errands since Friday. We've been feeding directly from the breast everytime she needed and wanted milk. The downside is I can't produce enough to store... like during the day she's on my breast. So I can only express at night when she sleeps. We're slowly building up our reserves again. I just need enough to last the maximum of 8 hours I'm away whenever I have to work.



That's me with my Paez family in New York. Alice and Jojo are at the right.


I gave myself an early reward. It's been a while since I've wanted nice shoes. Okay that's a lie. I haven't stopped my want and need for shoes ever. Anyway the New York in-laws are coming in a few weeks. I had a last minute request. Saw the studded Prada pumps online. They were a measly 20% off. And I was willing to settle for that price. But my super amazing sister in law Alice emails me - "the Prada store is just near my office." She works at Central Park Conservancy in Manhattan.


Shoe lust.


This morning Alice emails me: "Got your shoes. They're 50% off at the store. Lucky they had your size."

I feel like Cinderella. Thanks Alice and Jojo!

Gotta go brave Friday Christmas traffic now. Wish me luck...




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She's turning 5 months next week. Too fast. I don't want to blink. Here she is on my new printed Daphne Linens duvet cover.



What it looks like in my promo shots (Photos by Dix Perez, Make up by Denise Go Ochoa)



Retro Squares



Glam Rock



Psychedelia


Exclusive at SM Homeworld Makati, Megamall, Cebu and Davao.





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