18 Sep 2012

Sundate (September 9, 2012)

Today, Patrick and I are celebrating our 32nd month together so please allow me to indulge in stories about us. We went on a date two Sundays ago in Baguio. I do know that we were going to Baguio but I didn’t know what we were going to do because he planned everything for us. He felt that I deserved a little break since we hadn’t gone out for awhile.

We left at around 8:00am sharp because he wanted to spend the whole day with me :)

The views on the way to Baguio are quite breathtaking. To be honest, I’ve only realized it that Sunday probably because we always go there.

We arrived at 9am and went straight to Army Navy to get some brunch. Their tacos and quesadillas are so goood!

A Volkswagen covertible, HOW COOL IS THAT??

We went to this road on the way to Suello Village to take outfit shoots. If the dress looks familiar, it’s because I posted about it here. Yes, we took the photos on the day of the date, it’s part of his plan! He tells me that he doesn’t want anyone else to take my photos, he wants to always takes my outfit shots for me. So supportive, right????

He also told me that part of our date was him reviewing my driving skills. I haven’t been behind the wheel in two years and I miss driving a lot, I just can’t drive our van because it’s too big and it’s automatic (walang challenge. LOL!).

After the driving lessons, he brought me to John Hay. I thought we were going to do another shoot which at that time I really didn’t want to do anymore because I felt too tired. Imagine my relief and excitement when I found out that we were going Mini Golfing… “FUN FUN FUN FUN” (Rebecca Black, 2011)!!!

Buma-blogger pose si rabbit statue. HAHAHA!

Zombie Flintstone???????

January 18, 2010 — The start of the rest of our lives. :) Yiiiiiiii Cheesy! :p

In all 18 holes, I only won 2 and he got the rest of it, he even had a hole-in-one!

As I’ve mentioned in the last post, it was pretty humid that day so we bought ourselves some FIC.

We went to SM afterwards to shop and get lunch/dinner. I was craving Savory Chicken that day. I love their gravy!

Combo B: 1/2 Savory Chicken, Creamy Fish (A MUST EAT!), Pancit and Turon.

I had a lot of fun that day. It was so sweet of Pat to bring me on a date and I’m so grateful to have him in my life :)

Beeteedubs, To the man I wish to spend more months, years, and decades with, Happy 32nd Month! I love you so much! ♥

XO
Gelabeansss 

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18 Sep 2012

Personal Tuesday: My Niece and Nephew

I used to post a lot about my niece way back and I’ve noticed that I haven’t been doing it for awhile after her brother was born. They’re grown up now, Bachichi already knows a lot of words and is at the everything-she-says-is-adorable stage and Bunchoy has 3 sets of teeth already. I just want to share with you the two kids at home that make my day complete with their two-teethed grins and contagious laughters. 

Pardon the quality of the photos since I only grabbed them from my sister’s facebook account. Also, some of these photos were taken a few months ago but still within a 6-month radius so I think we’re good.

In my opinion, they are the cutest kids I’ve ever seen :)

XO
Gelabeansss 

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16 Sep 2012

A Letter to My 19-year-old Daughter

I’m taking a rest from my fashion related posts today to give way to the stuff I’ve written a few years back (almost 3 years ago, I think). I was reading this along with other articles that I’ve written and they were the reasons for my depression last Saturday. I came across my old blog and I started to question why I can’t write stuff like this anymore. It’s not thought provoking but it actually made more sense than the posts I make now. I realized, however, that I wrote this during tough times, when I was emotional. Oh well.

Here Goes.

                   ———————————————

For your information, I do not have a daughter yet. I’m writing this letter for my future 19-year-old daughter, something that might come in handy someday.

January 21, 2010

Hey, Gorgeous!

Okay, this may seem awkward and a little weird since i am writing to you, my daughter, who had been with me for 19 years. And being a carefree teenager, the last thing you need right now is someone telling you what to do, especially me, being your mom and all. But I’d like you to know that I wrote this when I was 19 years old, the same age as you are now. Believe me when I say that I know you’d rather listen to your girlfriends who are of same age as you are than your old mom. So here I am, and I want you to listen to me, not as your mom but as a girl friend.

First, I want to talk to you about school. I don’t have much to brag about when it comes to my academics because i was average. I wasn’t the intelligent type in school, I usually kept my mouth shut whenever the teacher asks a question about something because I was always scared that my answer might be wrong. But that is something I oftentimes regret.

Back in high school, I’ve had all sorts of distractions. I’ve been in the wrong circle of friends, done things that I shouldn’t have, watched too much tv, etc. And those distractions kept me away from doing my best in school. In this time, I know that I could’ve done much better if I kept my focus. But you’re in college now (I hope) and we both have passed that stage and I want you to know that I am proud of whatever you have accomplished now. And I want you to remember, that finishing school is very important. There will come a time that you will have to stand on your own and you will have to use up all the things you’ve learned. I don’t really need you to be successful or famous, I just don’t want to leave this world someday knowing that you don’t eat three times a day or that you don’t have a roof above your head, that will hurt me more than it will hurt you.

I would really appreciate it if you didn’t have a boyfriend when you were in highschool, but if you did, then don’t fret, I am not mad at you because I’ve been there. I just know that you still are young and I want you to understand that you should enjoy your single life first, because once you’ve met the right guy for you, you might not have enough time with your friends. Speaking of friends, they are the best things that could ever happen to you. Partners may come and go but your friends will always be there for you so you should never EVER neglect them. Trust me, I’ve learned that lesson the hard way.

Sweetie, you’re 19 now and I know that you may have been in some relationships or you will be in some, please don’t ever be afraid of telling me if you already are. Yes, I may not react the way you would want me to but still, I am your mom and I will be there to support you in whatever decisions you have, even when it comes to your love life, just like the way your Lola supported mine. You may also be in a couple of sucky, no-good relationships, and when you get there, always remember that you could always come to me and we will indulge in pistachio ice cream together.

Being heart broken is not easy, I know that sometimes you feel like the world is crumbling underneath your feet, but always remember that if you pray for it and always keep Psalms 34:18 in mind, everything will be okay and eventually the right guy will come at the right time. I know because I had been heartbroken, too, but I prayed for it then I found your dad and we had a very beautiful daughter, YOU.

I want you to understand that we, your family, will always, ALWAYS, be here for you, in whatever circumstance you are in or in every trouble you’ve cost. I speak from experience because your Lolo, Lola, Tita Abi and Tito Chie were always there for me. They had been my crying shoulders, my stress relievers (and causers), my solid ground and my strong foundation. You should never feel that you’re alone because you will always have your family. Also, you and your siblings may fight a lot but I still want you to be the role model for the younger ones and be respectful to the older ones. I wasn’t very good at this so trust me when I say that you’ll regret a heck of a lot if you don’t take this advice.

There are still a lot of things that I would like to tell you, but you’re grown-up now and you have to learn to explore things on your own. But before I end this letter, there are still four things that I would like you to remember:

1. You are beautiful no matter what (after all, I am your MOM).

2. Keep your feet on the ground.

3. Let your faith in God Guide you.

4. Your dad and I will always be here for you to support you but you should always remember that we are here to protect you, too.

I love you.

I’ll Stand by You.

Mom

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1 Sep 2012

Dasol Beach Trip (March 2012)

As you can see on the title, this is a long overdue “travel” post. And because of that, I am going to bombard you with potos…LOTS OF IT!

These photos were taken at Dasol, Pangasinan. One of the places here in the province where you can enjoy fresh air and white sand beaches. I shall be photobombing so, being the kind person that I am (charing!), I shall be placing a page break. Just click on the “Read More” hyperlink to see the other photos.

Read More

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30 Aug 2012

If I were going to be honest with you (which I will be at this very moment), one of the reasons why I have been on a 6-month hiatus was that I was about to give up on blogging. I felt that with the financial constraints, the limited creative process and my body imperfections were hindering my love for fashion blogging. The fact that I thought nobody was reading my blog didn’t help as well. It kinda made me feel a bit crappy about myself and gave me thoughts that maybe I am a trying-hard fashionista wannabe. It was until I opened my Tumblr Inbox and saw this message (which Tumblr was kind enough NOT to notify me *sarcasm*). Grace sent me this message a month ago together with a sweet comment in my Lookbook page. I was so happy because for the first time in my life, I was able to get something in my inbox that wasn’t spam… I KID! I was happy because these were the most thoughtful words a stranger has ever told me in my entire life. To make the long story short, Grace inspired me to continue what I’m doing, I felt that even as I am not as “fashion forward” as others, I should still pursue what I am passionate about. Besides, there is always room for improvement, right? I’ve also realized that I should go on regardless of whether someone or no one reads my blog posts. This has served as a lesson to me (and hopefully to you, too), that even if people keep ignoring what I do (or even go as far as sending snide comments my way), just as long as someone loves what he or she is doing, someone along the way will take notice and may even set them as inspiration. Thank you, Grace. You have inspired me more than I have inspired you. :)X.O. Gelabeansss P.S. Please check out Grace’s blog. This girl is amaze-balls!

If I were going to be honest with you (which I will be at this very moment), one of the reasons why I have been on a 6-month hiatus was that I was about to give up on blogging. I felt that with the financial constraints, the limited creative process and my body imperfections were hindering my love for fashion blogging. The fact that I thought nobody was reading my blog didn’t help as well. It kinda made me feel a bit crappy about myself and gave me thoughts that maybe I am a trying-hard fashionista wannabe.

It was until I opened my Tumblr Inbox and saw this message (which Tumblr was kind enough NOT to notify me *sarcasm*). Grace sent me this message a month ago together with a sweet comment in my Lookbook page. I was so happy because for the first time in my life, I was able to get something in my inbox that wasn’t spam… I KID! I was happy because these were the most thoughtful words a stranger has ever told me in my entire life.

To make the long story short, Grace inspired me to continue what I’m doing, I felt that even as I am not as “fashion forward” as others, I should still pursue what I am passionate about. Besides, there is always room for improvement, right? I’ve also realized that I should go on regardless of whether someone or no one reads my blog posts. This has served as a lesson to me (and hopefully to you, too), that even if people keep ignoring what I do (or even go as far as sending snide comments my way), just as long as someone loves what he or she is doing, someone along the way will take notice and may even set them as inspiration.

Thank you, Grace. You have inspired me more than I have inspired you. :)

X.O.

Gelabeansss

P.S. Please check out Grace’s blog. This girl is amaze-balls!

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15 Jun 2012

The Department Store Girl

I suck at blogging…it’s true! I haven’t blogged in a long time that I have so many features, outfit, travel, and many other random backlog posts. In my defense, though, I had been so caught up at my new work that I don’t have time to do it.

That or I’m just so darn lazy.

I think lazy is the more realistic answer. I’d like to apologize but it’s not like people read my posts so I’m not going to. But if you are reading, a million thanks, and sorry that I haven’t been doing my best to keep my 1 or 2 religious readers. I should be a better blogger, huh?

Anyway, that’s not the point. I was thinking of changing my blog’s name and I need your opinion (yes, you who, at least, got past the first 3 paragraphs). I was thinking of changing it from “Because I am Random” to “The Department Store Girl.” Why, you ask?

I noticed that most fashion bloggers either don’t buy clothes from low-end department stores or don’t credit stuff that they get from them (except for accessories). It made me question why until one of my friends made fun of jeans that are bought in SM.

That made me feel slightly uncomfortable because, well, if they think that those pieces are cheap or worthy of mocking, then what more from my jeans that I buy from Divisoria,Tutuban, ukay-ukayor any other tiangges?It made me feel so small because I can’t afford the same things they can and it made me feel embarrassed about myself.

Then came the self-loathing, insecurity, envy and hatred that I felt for myself for not being like them. It hurt that I can’t “shop-till-you-drop” in Forever21, TopShop, Mango or other Mid to High End boutiques because they’re just too expensive for me. I wished I was rich; I wished I could have everything that I have ever wanted.

Everytime that I have an outfit post, I didn’t mention that I got them from SM or Robinson’s or 168 just because I wanted society to accept me. I wanted to look sosyal by post-processing my photos to make my outfits look expensive. But I was only fooling myself.

I wish there was this life changing event that could make my story more interesting or an incident that could justify the transition. But there weren’t any. I just woke up one day and realized that there is nothing wrong with buying and wearing Department Store clothes. Yes, society may look at me disapprovingly and laugh at me for being one of the many who try hard to look good, BUT SCREW SOCIETY! Society has been ugly since the first day it was born. Or maybe at least the concept of it.

So, I have decided to stand up for people like me. For people who love fashion but is too swarmed by society’s standards of beauty, style, wealth and acceptance that they decide to keep mum. Every person should have a say, and if fashion is their voice then let them speak up. Style should not be dictated by the price of an outfit, but one’s personal views in life or their character, or whatever one’s preferences are.

That is why I’m changing my blog’s name to “The Department Store Girl.” But before I do that, I need to make sure that people understand my mini-advocacy. It’s not much but it’s a start.

I’m definitely going to change my blog’s name to fit what I stand for, but I want to make sure that I get my message across before I do it. Do you think “The Department Store Girl” is good enough? Any suggestions?

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29 Apr 2012

it has been 22 years since you came into our lives as a loving son, a responsible kuya, a caring boyfriend, a hard-working employee, a fun-loving friend and even a patient driver (haha). But even with all those roles and obligations, you never complained, you did everything for everybody around you yet you never cared about how much you are missing for your self and you NEVER asked for anything in return. But today is your day. So we want to thank you for all the things that you have done for us and let you know that you will always have our support no matter what. Happy birthday, my Patrick Julaton! I know that you don’t wish happiness for yourself because you are so busy making other people feel that way, including me. So this year, I will be the one to wish that for you. I hope that you will always find happiness in everything that you do, baby. And may you never grow tired of taking care of the people around you. I love you baby!I may not be able to even level with the kind of love that you gave me, but I hope it’s close :) 

it has been 22 years since you came into our lives as a loving son, a responsible kuya, a caring boyfriend, a hard-working employee, a fun-loving friend and even a patient driver (haha). But even with all those roles and obligations, you never complained, you did everything for everybody around you yet you never cared about how much you are missing for your self and you NEVER asked for anything in return.

But today is your day. So we want to thank you for all the things that you have done for us and let you know that you will always have our support no matter what. Happy birthday, my Patrick Julaton! I know that you don’t wish happiness for yourself because you are so busy making other people feel that way, including me. So this year, I will be the one to wish that for you. I hope that you will always find happiness in everything that you do, baby. And may you never grow tired of taking care of the people around you. I love you baby!I may not be able to even level with the kind of love that you gave me, but I hope it’s close :) 

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18 Apr 2012

just letting you all know that i am still alive…and still very narcissistic. blog post coming up!

just letting you all know that i am still alive…and still very narcissistic.

blog post coming up!

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22 Dec 2011

Forever Starts Today: The Len&Ronchie Nuptials

My brother got married last Sunday in Baguio and it was a really beautiful wedding. The theme was red and gold (perfect for the holidays, if you’ll ask me) and the bridesmaids and maids of honor can choose a design of their own, which is a great deal for me! 

Anyway, here are my favorite photos, it pretty much sums up every highlight of the night :)

XO

—Gelabeansss

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17 Dec 2011

Mock Photoshoot Taken by Patrick Julaton :)

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