It’s the inner desire of wanting to see things neatly placed together against a white background, that drove me to do this Flotsam and Jetsam post. I won’t lie.

I’m not a very tidy person (my Mom takes on that specialty), but it’s in seeing photos of colorful things following invisible grids that I get to live out some semblance of orderliness.

I happen to have severe hoarding tendencies, so our house is literally filled with the detritus of my lived life.  My Mom hates accumulating unnecessary things, which is why she has, in several points in my life, secretly thrown away some precious tomes of my childhood which I’ve specifically asked her not to touch. My 101 Dalmatians + Snoopy Around the World Happy Meal collection? She shoved it inside a huge plastic bag and gave the whole lot away. (as I typed this sentence, I literally felt a tiny ache in my heart).  My tall canister of pogs? Must’ve been thrown out in a fire. My jigsaw puzzles and coloring books from my childhood? Gone. Probably used to stuff the fake gift boxes under our Christmas tree.

The point is, hoarding is me taking a hold of  pieces of my whole entire life. I want to feel this distinct delight of stumbling upon an old childhood letter one random day without meaning to, and upon reading might make me go “Ahh, that friend. We barely had significant memories but it’s good to be reminded that she exists”. But a lot of people who hate clutter seem to be against old memories and an outpouring of sentiments. To them, what’s done is done, and there is little use in looking back. WRONG! They are so wrong.

ANYWAY, I still haven’t gotten to my point. The point is, I want to take pictures of the flotsam and jetsam in my life. The things that are on my bedside table. The things that are kept inside the shoeboxes. The old candy tins used as paperweight, the forgotten music boxes, the photographs that once made up the present.

It will make me happy if I see them, neatly placed beside one another against a white background. Immortalized forever through pictures on an untouchable space.

[ 1 ]  This candy tin was acquired from our recent trip to Sanrio Puroland, Japan last May. In the souvenir store, I didn’t find much things that I wanted to buy, so I settled for a Hello Kitty pin, a personalized Cinnamoroll bag tag, and Sanrio fruit drops in a colorful tin.

[ 2 ]  Similarly, #2 is another candy tin – a souvenir from my friend who came from Singapore. This is extra special to me because it is an important image in the movie, Grave of the Fireflies

[ 3 ]  Believe it or not, this is an actual film camera which I purchased for cheap in the States. I have 2 more photos from my roll of 36, and I’m hoping to get it developed soon! Let’s hope the photos actually turn out well.

[ 4 ]  A mini spinning globe that sits on top of my Lemony Snicket collection.

[ 5 ]  My favorite, Kewpie.

[ 6 ]  My sister’s mini “fox”tail of Sully from Monsters Inc! From Tokyo Disneyland.

[ 7 ]  Another tin where I keep some of my recent polaroids. I am in love with kitschy things, especially Asian themed kitschy things. This is a winner.

[ 8 ]  A chocolate frog pin that actually opens to reveal a mini chocolate frog! It is one of the most precious pins in the world! One day, I’ll make a separate Flotsam and Jetsam post for out Disney pin collection (plus three of our Harry Potter ones lol). Yay!

There is a place that’s littered with pastel platforms, coffin backpacks, and dinosaur hoodies. A place that keeps all of the covetable accessories at bay. A place in which all of the possible permutations of heavenly street wear happen.

And unlike in a Paris runway show, when life’s ultimate luxuries in the form of clothing & It clutches walk past & disappear in front of your eyes (all in fifteen minutes) – in this place, the runway is the every day commute. No fancy QR coded invites in letterpress. None of those peacock dressing snobs who scoff at your sad, unbranded t-shirt.

Harajuku, Japan

May 19, 2013

The Sunday morning commute to Harajuku station seemed quiet, but upon exiting the underground train, it was a different story. It was my first time seeing the new archway entrance to Takeshita Dori. No more letters encased in bright coloured bubbles to spell out Takeshita St.  Instead, there was a live LCD board hooked up to a camera that displayed the faces of people in the vicinity.

When the photo of the refurbished archway made its rounds online, some passionate netizens reacted violently against it. Apparently allergic to technology and street cameras, they expressed their dislike for the new sign.

However, it was a source of amusement for us tourists, who had us whipping out our cameras in attempts of capturing our pixelated faces on screen.

I actually liked the new sign. It seems brighter, happier and shinier. It must have been the use of the Arial Rounded font. Or perhaps the giant cartoon figures made out of what seems to be playground balls. Maybe.

Technically speaking, Takeshita Dori is a short and narrow street, which you can easily walk from end to end in three minutes or so, without stopping. But in our case, reaching the end of the street took us a good 3 hours. We have a tendency (more like urge) to enter each and every store in curiosity, inquiry, and occasional shopping. And this we did, unsparingly.

There were some serious dinosaur printed hoodies here which were too expensive to be worn only once or twice. This is why I stick to thrifting clothes and hoarding accessories and shoes abroad.  (╯︵╰,)

Since I couldn’t get any hoodies, I settled for a picture. Ouch.

Man, the Japanese people price (and pay) way too much for things that are so simple to make! This bow was priced at about 1,300 yen (around 600 pesos). Really.

These shoes are trying to pass off as creepers without the platform. They look dubious, but since they’re neon, I took a photo.

The English menu of Pearl Lady is so funny. The attempt at English is endearing, but I keep thinking Google Translate would’ve probably done a better job translating blueberry into anything else that isn’t a BULL BERRY.

The walls at Jol Harajuku. Here, I had the best shawarma rice ever!!! Who would’ve thought, huh?

Someone give me a wig collection please! I

By the end of the street, I got to ransack this unicorn top, a pair of rocking horse shoes, a pair of Little Bo Peep shoes, plus a bunch of new brooches and hair accessories, including a plastic candy pigtail holder (the kind with beads inside), which I wore immediately. I’m the worst example of a ‘grown up’ that you’ll ever come across, actually.

Harajuku St. was just a pedestrian crossing away from Takeshita, so we headed straight there. My head was already swimming with images of the transparent boots & pastel beanies I planned on asking my Mom to buy.

From a far, I saw a girl with bright pink hair giving away fliers, and I thought “her photo would look really nice on my blog” and so I exercised my stalker skills and made that photo happen.

Mandatory silly photo amongst the printed backpacks.

My sister’s glitter shoes & pushdown socks (we share stuff so don’t be surprised if you’ve seen me wear these in past posts haha)

Mandatory window reflection “selfies”

AvanteGarde entrance! The tights were exquisite but quite expensive, & I couldn’t take the guilt of buying a pair and over-stretching them with my thunder thighs, so I didn’t.

CANDID PHOTO. This cracks me up, I don’t know.

Chalkboard signs on the street! Here is a bunny that has more chic dresses and tutu skirts than the average human.

A stolen shot of my sister’s… things. Her Angelic Pretty tote + her Minni Mouse case + her watermelon skirt are things I want for myself too, just saying.

Hello, Japanese people!

Tried out this sequined cap while my Mom was hoarding shoes in the store next door. Alas, I couldn’t fit it well because of my pigtails. #problems

A vintage jewel print in between Betty Boop & Spongebob flannel pajamas. The store variation is ace.

Guys, I found Sailor Mercury!

Mandatory shot on the same graffiti wall where I had my picture taken last 2010. You can see that they painted the then teal pipes white. I am playing my own “spot the difference” game here., while showcasing the back of the Jem Biker Jacket I designed and painted.

Here I am on my knees, feeling all the Little Bo Peep / Lolita shoes.

Adorable Harajuku shop girls. I almost bought that fish purse in yellow NGGH.

Let’s get excited.

Throngs of people.

Mandatory picture with Yuka of 6% DokiDoki was all I walked away with when I exited the Doki store. Everything was ridiculously overpriced! I saw an earring (not even a pair) being sold at 315 yen in Takeshita, which was being sold in DokiDoki for 1,200 yen. I don’t think so!

I love taking pictures in the middle of pedestrian crossings. I see how annoyed people get when they see a colored leprechaun jump out of nowhere and block the middle of the pathway.

Meat people installation in LaForet. I am in love with these.

Mirrored building across LaForet!

A shoe that thinks it’s a cupcake.

A wall of teddy bears. Never mind that they look like lemurs in this photo.

SO MANY PRETTY AND OVERPRICED THINGS IN A ROWWWW.

This cat means business, I think.

This is painfully pretty.

Angelic Pretty

100 yen Japanese lanterns

The googly eye ring was a freebie that a strange pink visual kei man in Harajuku (photographic reference below*) gave my sister and I. It is so adorable and perfect! The thing came apart after a few minutes, but nothing a drop of glue can’t fix.

Hanging out with the meat people.

Mandatory (word of the day) Purkiura at Takeshita Street!

At around 8pm, most of the shops were already getting ready to close (why so early, Japan? This is not Sydney haha! We have malls in the Philippines that close at 11!) – so we headed to Shibuya to go have photos taken (like a real tourist) at the Shibuya crossing. By that time, it was too late to visit the already closing Shibuya 109, so we just took photos of the beautiful Tokyo night life.

HI ADORBS.

I had to climb up a cement barrier so I could take a video of the iconic Shibuya crossing in action. The timed scrambling is quite a marvelous sight.

It is said that over a million people walk this four way crossing every day. Can you imagine? We have a polaroid shot of  ourselves crossing to – taking our own parts in the said million for the day.

Here is the pink man giving out fuzzy eye rings!

Every time we’re out late (which is every day), I couldn’t stop taking pictures of Tokyo’s lights. Something about the whole picturesque scene makes me feel so fuzzy and warm inside, despite the cold air that’s rushing through my face. Perhaps it is the overwhelming sense that I am surrounded by things I couldn’t understand.

Someday, I’ll try to understand.

What could a girl possibly wear to one of the most fashionable streets in the world?

 Location: Takeshita Dori + Harajuku St.

Outfit details: Jem Biker Jacket (Reese Lansangan original) | Zigzag top (Thailand) | Playboy shorts (Elan Bijoux) | Bags (US) | Jelly Sandals (Tokyo)

I know it’s a bit too late for me to be realizing this, but I felt like my Japan photo diaries are already so loaded with photos, that to mix in outfit shots with travel shots seems like an overkill. Hence, I took the liberty of removing most of my vanity shots from my Japan Day 5 travel diary (to be posted tomorrow), and moved it to this new entry! Ta-dah!

About this outfit: Remember when I had my first mini fashion show, right? I designed 4 looks that centered around, you guessed it, Japan. For one of my pieces, I designed this three-toned pastel faux leather jacket that’s reminiscent of something I’d LIKE to actually wear in Harajuku. This said piece is the jacket I’m wearing above.

I heavily studded the lapels with my own two hands, and I painstakingly sewn on, painted, and embellished the Jem and the Holograms back patch of the jacket. *proud moments* Many sleepless nights have been devoted towards the completion of this “Jem biker jacket” I’m wearing, and even though it was bulky and a wee bit fragile, I knew I HAD to bring it along with me to wear in Harajuku.

AND THERE I AM!!! WAS!!!! ლ(́◉◞౪◟◉‵ლ)

Oh, I guess I should already go ahead and mention that I DIY-ed those eyeball earrings I’m wearing out of clay. It actually weighs a TON (I overestimated the size of the eyeball), and now my ear piercings look more like vertical slits than baby holes.

I also threw in an outfit shot of my sister because I really dig what she’s wearing AND I’ve been wanting to steal her watermelon skirt since the day she got them. Anyway, Japan Day 5 photo diary will be up tomorrow! I hope you enjoy these fashion shots for now

My Mom recently gave me her old folio from 15 years ago, which she found while cleaning the stock room in our office. It’s a lovely, brown envelope-type folio that fits my MBP 15″ perfectly! Inside the old folio though, were a few envelopes from the past that my Mom and I have both unearthed. One of which is the Max’s “You Are Invited” birthday card from 15 years ago. This was an invite for my friend’s birthday then. That said friend is already getting married this December. CRAYYY!

Anyway, I LOVED the invitation! It looks SO perfectly kitschy and old – like one of my childhood stickers or trading cards. I knew that I had to make a collage out of it, so I quickly scanned it and made it my jumping off point for the quick piece above

Japan Day 5 photos to come soon! For now, it’s random art time!

Hi all!

I’ve been making a lot of collages recently and I just thought that I’d make good use of some of them by making them into wallpaper freebies! This first one in particular is the same young deer you keep seeing on my site header Hopefully, I’d get to keep this wallpaper freebie as an ongoing thing

Just click on your selected device below and click “save to camera roll”. I’ve taken the liberty of customizing the sizes according to your gadgets. Enjoy, and let me know if you use it! I’d be so happy if you do!

⇣  iPhone 5 

⇣  iPhone 4 + 4s

⇣  iPhone + iPod Touch

⇣  iPad + iPad Mini

⇣  iPad Retina

No matter what I do or how early I plan, I still never have been fully equipped and ready for the storm that is Bloggers United.

For BU5 this year, I brought out my best fabrics, whipped out my brand new, merry go round accessories holder, and dressed as a human, holographic Lisa Frank sticker – but it seems as if I’m still unprepared for the event. I forgot to bring change (always important, and I always seem to forget this), and I also forgot to print out my business cards (therefore I resorted to asking my sister to write my blog url by hand, on pieces of paper scattered on my table).

Time and time again, I get overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who come at Bloggers United. But more than that, I’m overwhelmed by the fact that a tiny fraction of the attendees actually recognize me and are readers of my blog. I’m definitely far from being a well-known blogger, which is why I can’t help feeling shy and out of place during bloggers’ events filled with prolific people. Therefore, it’s always a delight to know that people read (and like) my blog content – even though it’s becoming less and less about fashion and more about my life in general haha.

Even though I don’t get to show it much, it means the world to me that people (no matter how few) still pay attention to what I put out here. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea (it goes without saying that my creepy doll head and eyeball accessory obsession ain’t for everyone), but I’ve been given this tiny space in this big, confusing Internet world. And here in this space, I will most definitely be serving MY cup of tea and mine alone. Tea that’s sprinkled with sequin globs, holo glitter, and googly eyes that float.

This really touched my heart! Alanis, a reader, handed me this card with a letter and an illustration of me! The sweetest thing ever, honestly!

Here is Alanis in white, with her friend (I forgot her name, but please comment in this entry if you find it!)

Dressing up as a human, holographic, Lisa Frank sticker!

With Maya Kibbel! I got 4 items from her closet sale, including a pink, moon and star skirt + a yellow hoodie that said T♥KYO. Maya came up to me at some point and offered me the moon and star skirt, which she said was “so me” Of course I couldn’t not get it!

Thank you so much to my sister, who recorded all the sales and manned the main booth while I talked to people!

This super stylish girl bought some button pins from our booth! Her style gives me serious Coachella vibes.

One of my favorite bloggers in BU5, Aivan!!! I bought a studded Igorot vest from him when we first met, which I’ve worn in my trip to Cambodia here. 

Met this guy Abraham and had a really interesting conversation with him. Originally from Singapore, he came here about a month ago to study Fashion Design at CSB. I’m a fan of his style, and I love his Singaporean accent! Hope to see this guy around soon! He said he reminded me of Grimes, which sent me to the moon and back. I mean, GRIMES is a definite life peg of mine.

Mike Magallanes with his thrifted Mercibeaucoup jacket with the sausage like collar. Aghh!

Me with the Lee team!! Karla, RJ, and Tin

With Gelo Arucan, my booth mate! I bought the skeleton necklace I’m wearing in this photo from him!

With the dashing-kahit-anong-mangyari Bruce Venida, Karla, and their girl friend whose name I wasn’t able to get! (I’m sorry -_-)

With Gelo’s siblings – Choco, Vanilla, and Mocha! The cutest names in the world! I can’t get over it!

With my ka-chika and ka-KPop blogger for life, Tin! Clingsters.

And one last photo! Oh, I’m selling the plastic neon choker necklace I’m wearing in this photo for Php 250. Email me for orders!

Prior to our actual Japan trip, I already set my Mom aside and declared that I, the resident tour guide (see: trip dictator) of the family, will be taking one full day off from my usual responsibilities.

Reason being, I will be meeting up and spending a whole day with one of my good friends from Manila, who recently migrated to Australia, who now happens to be situated in Tokyo right now for work. Simply put, my friend from Manila who moved to Australia is currently in Tokyo. And there will be no ifs and buts – I have to meet up with her during this trip.

Weirdly, I initially met Ate AM online, via Twitter. She’s a few years older than me, went to Miriam for high school, and UP Diliman for college. Clearly running in different circles, we really had no outright reason to know each other. For some reason though, I got to know her and two of her close high school friends through repeated Twitter mentions and conversations. We eventually all got to meet in real life, and by the miracle of internet friendship, there wasn’t really an awkward “We get along so well online but face to face I just can’t think of a single thing to say to you” episode. The fact of the matter is, we all got along so well – so well that my new online-turned-IRL friends quickly became my companions in a few (mis)adventures that I dared not tell my Mom about (lol shh).

ANYWAY, even though she already moved to Australia (and is now stationed temporarily in Japan), we have been continuously in touch with each other. We update each other about random matters, specifically (in Ate’s case), matters of the heart. We both have shared a fascination with Japanese culture and style ever since, so I think it’s so perfectly providential that  we were able to meet and spend a full day together IN TOKYO, no less!

That Saturday morning, I boarded the train from Takadanobaba to Shinjuku. 5 minutes since I entered, I immediately wondered why the train doors haven’t been closing yet. I was hearing announcements blaring in Japanese, & Icouldn’t understand why the Yamanote line hasn’t been moving yet. The people around me didn’t seem the slightest bit bothered though, so I knew it was just a matter of waiting it out.

After 25 minutes at Takadanobaba, the train doors finally closed, making its way to Shinjuku. I was already 20 minutes late from our set meeting time of 10:30, but I arrived in front of Studio Alta and discovered Ate AM wasn’t there yet either. Not too long after though, I saw Ate AM in my periphery, making a mad dash towards my direction. We hugged and freaked out like crazy (we haven’t seen each other in a while, of course), and went to the nearest shop window to take a picture of our reflection of TOGETHERNESS HAHA.

I soon discovered that the halting of the Yamanote line that morning was due to a “human accident” – which in Japan actually translated to a suicide. Somebody jumped onto the train tracks & people had to clean the mess, hence the delay. Apparently, this sort of thing is considered a semi normal occurrence in Japan. It was kind of scary how people have learned to be indifferent towards grave acts such as people throwing themselves to their death. Kind of like how the everyday news of murder and various acts of violence has become a sad “staple” in our local news.

Anyway.

Our day started with a visit to Harajuku. Since my family and I were also planning to spend the day after in Harajuku, my trip with Ate AM was a precursor to that. More or less, it was a “spotting all the things I’ll ask my Mom to buy for me tomorrow” trip. For lunch, Ate took me to this super artsy, eat all you can Okonomiyaki place. I had so much fun mixing the bowls and squeezing the mayo on the cooked okonomiyaki!

I also brought my ukulele with me, and I had the opportunity to “fake” busk in Harajuku! I thought I’d be able to achieve my busking in abroad dream for real, but found it really awkward that I there was someone within the vicinity that I actually know irl. Needless to say, I chickened out and ended up singing and playing on a small, empty street in Harajuku. (I have videos! I’ll post a compilation after doing the complete photo diary series). Still, it’s one small step closer to actual busking abroad. Someday, I will, I promise!

After Harajuku, we took the train to Naka-Meguro – a quiet and peaceful district that had interesting shops lined up along the river. We weren’t able to buy anything except for REALLY GOOD choux cream (the choux cream store even photographed us and put us up on their FB page lol), and the excellent egg pudding jars we’re holding in one of the pictures below.  Despite that, it was such a wonderful feeling getting to walk along the streets with the trees towering above us. For some crazy reason, we decided to walk from Naka-Meguro, all the way to the next train stop which is Daikanyama. I wanted to visit this Blythe shop – not to buy a doll, but just because. They didn’t really allow photos but I stole a few from their store window. I hope they never find out. We tripped out over a 390 yen shop in Daikanyama with the cutest items, before we headed to Nakano. I seriously gushed and geeked out because there were so many manga, so many toy collectibles, so many anime, so many THINGS that I’d love to fill my life with in general! By the end of the night, I wound up buying used manga, button pins, postcards, and a tote bag I’ve been coveting from a Japanese magazine! However, I ended up heartbroken because I wasn’t able to buy the Sailormoon wallet that I REALLLLY wanted to get. Ah, such is my cruel fate.

We ended our adventure by heading back to Takadanobaba and having our mandatory Purikura session! I was a bit heartbroken to find that they didn’t have any more of those funky kawaii photo booths. They replaced those with more Gyaru type beautifying booths that focused more on eye enlarging, skin enhancing and such. PSH! I wanted eyeballs and confetti and metallic prints on my Purikura! I felt like I was being robbed! But still, we couldn’t end the day without a Purikura, so we just went for it and doodled on it like crazy.

Ate AM and I met up with my family soon after, and she took us to this really famous ramen place near us. We had huuuge ramen bowls we all had to individually conquer and by the end of the night, we could barely carry ourselves and walk the short distance back to our hotel. But of course, we had to so we did.

It’s not often we get to strap on our seat belts and embark on a Sunday road trip with the family.

When my cousins and I were younger though, this happened every weekend. It was something we greatly looked forward to, after a week of toiling in our respective schools. Sometimes, we’d absent ourselves during Fridays just so we could have our self-prescribed “long weekend”. We’d go anywhere – Clark, Tagaytay, Subic, Baguio – anywhere that’s away from Manila. And we’d do everything imaginable – play hide and seek in multiple hotel floors, make desserts that go with our chocolate fountain, light the fireplace in our rented house in Baguio – just to have our bit of fun. Riding the car back home to Manila was always the most difficult part of our weekends.

These days, the getaways rarely happen. We’ve come a long way from being the carefree children that we were in elementary. Some cousins are already in college, as busy as ever. Most of them have demanding jobs. A few have already gone abroad in search of a different life. Now, our weekends are often reserved for doing more work that couldn’t be crammed within the weekdays. It’s incredibly sad in a way, that our large family (first cousin count on the Mother’s side goes up to 30 – 4/5ths of us are girls) has seemed to outgrow this weekly ritual that played such an important part in our growing up. But sometimes, when relatives from abroad find time to go back home, these rare opportunities for a getaway present themselves again. Every now and then, we’d find ourselves strapping on our seat belts (or forgetting to, sometimes), with the family van headed off to a place, any place, that isn’t Manila.

This past weekend, we were able to go on a day trip to Subic. Some of my cousins from the States are visiting and they wanted to ride jet skis for their Sunday activity. It was the first time in a long time that I was able to get my waterproof bag and actually pack things for the beach. I brought out my star shaped sunglasses and my iPad (with my 1Q84 ebook loaded into it and halfway read), ready for the road trip.

As expected, I fell asleep almost instantly, but woke up startled by the view outside. We have traveled quite a distance, and we have long escaped the buildings of commercial Manila. We were already approaching the mountains, and the picture out my window was arresting – an endless field of green that contrasted with the clear, blue sky. Everything seemed hyper saturated – as if the surroundings were soaked in acid. I couldn’t remember a time out of all of our local road trips that I outrightly appreciated how beautiful the view outside my window was, until this weekend.

In the past, I was never able to keep my promise of posting up day to day photo diaries of my voyages “around the world”. But lately, there has been an outpouring of travel photos on this blog. I don’ t know exactly what changed. It feels like I’ve stumbled upon a pair of super saturated sunglasses by accident, and now I look at the world a bit differently from the way I looked at it before. Almost everything that I look at now seems beautiful and picturesque – even the lump of green mud left floating in a puddle by the beach.

In any case, I don’t think I’m ever returning these sunglasses to whomever it really belongs.

It’s strange. I’ve only been Kaila’s classmate once in our ten years of Grade School and High School in SHS QC.

I sat behind her at the far right of the room, and our corner had always been the noisiest in Mrs. De Leon’s Grade 4 advisory class. Kaila coined my awkward high school nickname, and most of the time, we talked about anime and our favorites from M2M’s Shades of Purple album. She, along with a few other friends from the Grade 4 class, was one of the first few people who slept over at my house.

After high school, we went to our respective (rival) universities – I went to Ateneo to study Information Design, and she went to La Salle to pursue Advertising. I kept up with her university life through her Multiply and her old blog site. We already had different circle of friends after our year of being classmates, but we seemed to have similarities in our fascination for cute and childish things. 4 years of university went by quickly.

I wasn’t able to hear from her for a long time until she contacted me for an interview, to be put up on her Rainbowholic blog. She has posted my music covers in the past, and I gained some new listeners because of her loyal blog following. Already, Kaila was living in Japan and chasing her dreams in the country that I also feel so strongly about. After the interview, we remained in contact through FB messages and Twitter.

I was living vicariously through her blog. Her adventures in Japan made me strangely feel like I, too, was sharing that kawaii world she so happily lives in with her. I would message her every now and then, telling her how she’s living my idea of a perfect life, and I couldn’t be happier that one of the people whom I’ve shared my childhood with, is living her dreams at present. In turn, she would also keep up with messages whenever she can. Eventually, she opened up about her then upcoming project, JapanLover.Me – and I immediately jumped at the chance to do a dream collaboration with her and the JapanLover team.

In December last year, she went back home to spend the holidays with her family. We were planning to meet up briefly but our schedules did not match, and I was already headed to the States by the time her sched would permit her to go out. So when plans of my family going to Japan had been finalized, I quickly told her about it, knowing fully well that we had to meet up at some point in my stay in Tokyo. But as fate would have it, she had to fly back to the Philippines for an emergency at the same day I was headed to the center of Tokyo. But fate is still kind and as it turns out, I’d still be able to meet up with her here in Manila after I come home from Tokyo.

Now, after I think more than 6 years, Kaila and Reese / Rainbowholic x Reeseypeasy are reunited! We spent half of the day talking about blogging, life in Japan and Manila, grade school life, and future projects. We took random photos and polaroids at places that forbid picture-taking, and closed the day by doodling on our photos whilst lying with our tummies on the floor.

Here’s to hoping that the next time we embark on an adventure, it will be in Tokyo

Character credits on first image: Rilakkuma  | Cinnamoroll | Poko | Anpanman | Peko 

Bigger and Better Bloggers United FIVE!

Your favorite fashion and beauty bloggers are all set for the 5^th installment of Bloggers United!

Get ready for another round of intense shopping experience as 60+ of Manila’s top fashion bloggers open their closets once again in a big bazaar this June 1, from 10am to 8pm at our best venue yet, the SMX Convention Center (Function Room 3)! Bloggers United gets even BIGGER with our partner bazaar The Great Luxe Sale of Mall of Asia and SMX, happening from May 31 to June 2 at the SMX Hall 1.

Celebrity bloggers Divine Lee, Victor Basa, Laureen Uy, Camille Co, Nicole Anderson, and Maggie Wilson will all grace the event, plus international blogger Maya Kibbel of Elle Girl Japan!

End summer with a bang at BU5! What to expect:

1)      1.) Great finds for less, perfect for revamping your look as another school year starts!

2)      2.) Meet and interact with style bloggers and online friends!

3)      3.) Contribute to Bloggers United 5’s partner charity Diksyunaryo Atbp (https://twitter.com/DiksyonaryoAtbp ). Bring old (or new) books as we will accept donations at the registration booth!

4)      4.) Lots of games, music, and other exciting surprises from our BU5 partners!

Don’t forget to charge your cameras, stash some extra cash, and dress your best as we celebrate another day of personal style and expression! Tickets will be sold for P100 available in all SM Cinemas nationwide. You could also buy at the event venue.  Use GCASH to purchase your tickets to get 50% discount, plus awesome freebies! See you there!

For more information and updates, follow Bloggers United:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Official Hashtag: #BU5

In Partnership with:

Diskyonaryo ATBP.

SMX Convention Center

SM Tickets

CO-PRESENTERS

Benefits Style Salon

Crocs

Flipsters

Free Fish

Globe GCASH

Godiva Natural Skin Care

MadhouseMNL

Marie Claire

PAC The Professional Artist Cosmetics

Res | Toe | Run

S&H

SeaVees

Shulong

Sorci Age by Wacoal

Swims

The School of Satchel

Wacoal

MAJOR SPONSORS

Browhaus

Hospitality International, Inc.

I Love KOI Swimwear

Pazzo

Strip: Ministry of Waxing

The Picasso Boutique Services Residences

Zalora Philippines

MINOR SPONSORS

Beauty & Butter Salon

Giordano

Style Locale

ZenZest

Rockport

MEDIA SPONSORS

Stylebible.ph

Cosmo.ph

ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc.

Diva Universal

Chalk Magazine

MEG

MegaStyle.PH

Metro Magazine

Spot.PH

Status Magazine

TheMall.PH

WheninManila.com

DONORS

Arajera

May Fashion

Pink Fashion