Hyper Holiday

I have been in an extremely hypnagogic state for the last couple of weeks. A week of jetlag, the onslaught of work, chores, and errands are beating me down. My dear father, who I'm missing terribly, thinks it's due to the following reasons: I'm better fed at home, pampered with massages and acupuncture, didn't have to do any sort of physical labor (his term for basic household chores), and lived like a lady of leisure. Shades of a perfectly marbled cow's life seem so distant now as I type away from the kitchen counter listening to the dishwasher hum.

I remarked to Melanie, one of my best friends from college, that I am so unlike this. To which she replied, lamentably, "it's our age, dearie." Having recently turned 35, I shuddered at the thought while lying in bed. Vanity immediately got me back on my feet as I reached out for La Mer's Eye Balm Intense on my night stand ready to regain my footing.

Just emptied my postal box the other day and still opening a few holiday surprises. Christmas in March is still ok in my book as long as the weather is below 50F, though we've been having some spring flings at 70F the past days. Just as well, it suits  flashbacks of my charmed hyper holiday which started last mid December in New York....

 Irwin Feld Design's It's A Snow Day

 material development research at a glitzy showroom

 slipped into BG to pick up resort Louboutins

 and stepped out in time to marvel at the 
Unicef Baccarat snowflake

photo credit
Arrived Cebu in time for my birthday surprise

cleverly crafted by best friend Joanna Lhuillier

with the help of other besties

 then along came Christmas

 New Year crept up soon after

 

watching the fireworks

 with my family

from the garden 

 was magical

It was the end of a very interesting decade, 

to say the least.

so much to be thankful for

more to look forward to

 

everyday is a reason to celebrate 

no matter what...

goals. resolutions. plans

are recorded

in the hopes that they will spring 

to life from these pages

make time for family and friends

nurture oneself

unlock a few mysteries along the way

make dreams happen

create. sing. dance

 

days and nights are passing too quickly

2011 has been off to an amazing start

but there are days when I feel I'm not doing enough.

i'm happy to realize that i've been living my sage friend's advice

on his annual holiday card:

"find and fill in the blanks to your taste"

My dear friend, Jean Moraros, creates a beautiful holiday card every year.  I posted his last card here. He is an artist in many ways with a beautiful soul. His aura and peaceful sensibility radiates.  It is a delight to open his card in March as I'm stressing out about work. A healthy reminder that I have been  doing what I'm supposed to be doing and always at the right time and place even when it doesn't seem to gel on days like this. Click on the photo to enlarge so you can seek your own adventure as well.

p.s. Hyper Holiday not over yet....will be sharing about our Cebu Mardi Gras in January and Lunar New Year

Fall Song

 

photo taken from a yoga photo shoot 2002

 

I just got back from my restorative yoga class. It was a great way to wrap up the Thanksgiving weekend and get ready for the new week. It is 2 days before the last month of the year . It will be 2011 before we know it. My yoga teacher, Vicki, shared the Fall Song in class. It was so appropriate for the moment, I felt compelled to share it here.                                  

                                

Fall Song

Another year gone,

 

leaving everywhere its rich spiced residues 

 vines

leaves

 the uneaten fruits crumbling damply

in the shadows, 

 unmattering back from the particular island

of this summer, this NOW, 

that now is nowhere except underfoot, 

 moldering in that black subterranean castle

of unobservable mysteries---

roots and sealed seeds

and the wanderings of water. 

 

This I try to remember when time's measure painfully chafes, 

for instance when autumn flares out at the last, 

boisterous and like us longing  to stay ---

 how everything lives, shifting from one bright vision to another, 

forever in these momentary pastures.

* personal photos of Central Park taken from Jumeirah Essex House, 2008

* personal photos of The Homestead-Hot Springs, Virginia, 2008

Fall is my favorite season next to Spring and I usually take a trip to New York to see friends and get my museum fix with the new exhibits. I didn't make it earlier this time but will be there in 2 weeks. Below is a photo with one of my best friends, Stephen Aznar.

 

 A gourmand and sommelier, he has left the city and moved back to Cebu to open Cafe Elysa in the historic neighborhood of Parian.

I miss our fall foodie ritual but I look forward to sharing a meal with him soon enough. We used to stop at Sherry Lehmann and he picks a variety of wines  at different price points but now he sends them via email.

 photo taken from Alsace, 2007

I deleted the recent email by mistake but here are  some I've served and can remember: Chateauneuf-du-Pape from Domaine du Vieux Lazaret at $23.95 per bottle.  Lafite Reserve Speciale (Medoc) 2003 for just $17. The Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Rose at $14.99 is pretty fantastic. Sherry Lehmann ships anywhere too.

Trite it may seem---

just as some people await Beaujolais Nouveau, 

I look forward to the first day of Fall to open my
La Mer moisturizer.

It has served me well over the years. I started using it in 2002 around the time when this photo was taken for Zee Magazine's Style Issue. I dabbed it all year round for 3 years but stopped (esp. during hotter months in the tropics) when I started dating an avid fisherman  and stayed out in the sun a lot. 

*click to enlarge*

Upon moving to the US, it stayed as my Fall/Winter ritual and I use a lighter moisturizer w/ SPF (rotate different brands)  during Spring/Summer. Many people ask if it's worth the money and what the hoopla is all about. If you are interested to try this so called miracle cream, please ask for a sample and test it first. It's different for everyone. I've used the whole range and was told I didn't need to so now I just use the creme,  the eye cream, and recently the lip balm. It is amazing and would make an affordable luxe holiday gift. The regenerating serum works well for sun spots which my friend can attest to. Here's hoping my face will be holiday ready!

click photo to read article which ties in with 

yoga and yesterday's antique shopping post.