Ode to my Father

March 17th is always special for me. Not because it's St. Patrick's Day but it's my dear father's birthday. Low key and unassuming, he would probably cringe that I am blogging about his birthday. He doesn't quite get  social media yet. I told him that I will explain visually what all this is about when I am back home.  I've missed his last four birthdays since I moved here. We communicate almost everyday via email, text, Skype, or majicJack. Amazing how technology works, I grew up in the 3rd World with black rotary phones where I remember screaming into the phone on long distance calls and you needed an operator to put you through. I just miss him so much and wish I was in Cebu with my other US based family members who went home to celebrate. These photos were taken five years ago from his biggest birthday weekend bash in Manila (an hour flight from Cebu) which he co-celebrated with one of his best friends, Pete. His birthday is on the 18th. 

Before the evening's festivities, we decided to have a quiet day and drove 70 km south of Manila and went to Antonio's Garden in Tagaytay for lunch. Much has been said about the fine French inspired Filipino restaurant by Chef Antonio Escalante tucked in lush verdant hills that we had to check it out for ourselves. It is an old home converted into a well ventilated garden restaurant. The koi pond also deserves a mention.

foyer filled with Philippine art, antiques and

furniture

with admirable bases

lovely dining vignettes were created in different areas

providing ample intimacy indoors or outdoors

everything was superb---food, service and ambience

 my recent Google search also shows that 
they've remained consistent.

I am going to post the ode I wrote to my father 

on Father's Day six years ago...

Thank you for letting me fly high enough 

to know the ways of the world

and for clipping my wings 

when it became too much for me to bear.

For the times when you drank champagne 

with me to celebrate,

wine during late night talks,

sambucca to help me swallow 

a few jagged pills,

apple-carrot-echinacea concoction 

when systems fail,

and for sharing a mean brownie cup ala mode 

when I'm down.

For listening to my so-called 

love tribulations without wincing,

and knowing when they've done 

enough karmic justice to my face

(thus understanding why it validates

 a big jar of La Mer charged to your card).

For loving me unconditionally 

despite follies and flaws.

For simply knowing when to be a father, 

friend and professional colleague.

I'm very blessed to have and share 

this rare relationship with you.

I thank God for you everyday.

Happy Father's Day

---published June 2005, Gypsy Queen

Sunstar Daily Cebu, Philippines

According to my feng shui calendar, March 17th is the luckiest day of the year. I am lucky to have my father in my life. He has been incredibly supportive of my passions and continues to foster utmost influence and inspiration in everything that I do. His tenets and values guide me. I hope I'm not being obnoxious by posting our photos but I feel it is important to honor and thank our loved ones as much as we can and let them know it. This is part of my gratitude series which I decided to start after my first birthday post. I have been blessed with amazing people in my life who have supported me along the way, contributed to my growth, and kept me grounded. I want to celebrate them.  I am the sum of the people who've inspired me.

p.s. Review of Antonio's Garden Restaurant and more recent photos here 

Spoon Fork Double Happiness

I'm supposed to be working but in the play area of my mind, there is a hamster that won't stop wheeling. I'm already thinking about Chinese New Year which will coincide with Valentines Day this year. I'm 60% Chinese 30% Filipino 10% Spanish. I often get mistaken as Vietnamese or Korean even by fellow Filipinos around here. I like that Lunar New Year is a month or two later than the Gregorian New Year. It gives me time to get those resolutions in place. I look forward to combining both occasions and have been thinking about my dining table decor and menu.

my theme name

Spoon Fork Double Happiness

is inspired by one of my favorite films

Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman

my friend and blog diva,

ABCD Design's brilliant Valentine Card

Thornwillow's Double Happiness Card

from One Kings Lane

I once hosted a Chinese New Year's dinner in Cebu which coincided with my girlfriend Lea's birthday. All I did was order the ten-course meal from a favorite Chinese restaurant and got dolled up in a cheongsam after setting the chinoiseried table with goldfish filled fishbowls. Everyone came in their mandarinned best. I don't have this luxury now since we don't have a decent Chinese restaurant in our area and my Chinese cooking is below average at best. This is where St. Valentine comes in to save me. I will be getting my recipes from a recipe book I've yet to unearth from storage hoping to serve western food in an eastern setting.

fork me, spoon me

by Amy Reiley

aphrodisiac extraordinaire

Going au naturel in the kitchen is not my style so I do hope to be dressed more conservatively. I pulled out these lovely outfits from Blanc de Chine's current collection. My friend, Emmanuel Hamoy, is the manager there in case you happen to pass by the 5th Ave store. They have amazing classic outfits that will last many seasons. Love the top since it's a mix of Chinese and Japanese (asymmetrical Issey Miyake-ish pleats) and the bottom is just perfect in its subtle elegance.

I am also crushing on this Bauhaus Silk Qipao from Shanghai Tang, another favorite brand that has everything. This is definitely more me, a mix of both worlds.

p.s. food for thought from the film

hello, have you eaten yet? (reminds me of my family, sometimes we say this before we say 'how are you?')

communicate through food, not through emotions (this is how my grandparents communicated, they had 3 course breakfasts and 5 course lunches and dinners)

you rely on feelings when you cook, not your taste buds

whatever you do, don't add salt. salt dries the fish and it won't be tender

beware of fake shark's fin in soup. no flavor no matter how long you cook it. (i know this is not animal friendly eating but my mom makes an amazing soup that i wouldn't mind having once in a blue moon)

what you want you can't get. what you don't want, you can't get rid off

Thank You, The Decorating Diva!

I would like to thank Carmen Natschke, the fabulous editor of The Decorating Diva, for featuring me in their Design on Spotlight series this week! What an honor!

Albi and Me

Many have asked about the story behind my profile photo and the interesting animal in the portrait. Everyone, please meet Albi (short for Albino). His name is not very original and some of you must be thinking, how un-politically correct! Albi was one of three albino carabaos or water buffaloes (the Philippine national animal) saved from the slaughter house and we just wanted to celebrate his nude/ peach/pink color. Which answers the next question---his color or image wasn't photoshopped. He was docile all throughout the two shoots. Our first attempt was a night shoot in his surroundings but the studio shoot worked out better. He only made a fuss when we tried to put on a Swarovski lariat necklace by Miranda Konstantinidou (Konplott) so we left him au naturel. Looks much better anway. The dress by talented fashion designer, Ronald Villavelez, and Konplott jewelry ended up matching Albi without much forethought. When I talked to Ron about the dress, I told him I wanted something in eggshell or nude and a modern take on the Filipino terno (our national costume). He called me for the fitting and my jaw dropped when I saw the laser cut florettes on the sleeves, the delicate ruffles and the mix of nudes. Leave it up to him to create something better than imagined. The jewels were an afterthought. I called Miranda while getting made up at the studio and asked if she had anything peachy pink. The driver came back with a bunch of beautiful jewels and I picked this Swarovski pearl layered necklace and bracelet which look like they were just made for this moment. Albi and I unintentionally matched! If I remember correctly, we wrapped up in 2 hours.
If a picture speaks a thousand words, then O speaks volumes. How long will the story of a photo be after Romero Vergara transforms the subject with his amazing maquillage artistry and then Jon Unson captures that particular image at that moment? Alive yet frozen in time.  I am thankful to be part of this book collaboration by publisher Eva Gullas, photograper Jon Unson, and make up artist Romero Vergara. Published in 2006.

A book called O

O is for openness, an open door to

exciting possibilities, a space that

allows access...it is an open

mind, receptive to ideas, and open

to vulnerabilities...

O is just like oxygen, a necessity

to living a life...

O is a circle that gives

a different view, a different

perspective...

Introduction by Jing Ramos

The Company We Keep

It takes more than wit to capture the nuances and mood of a community that is on the brink of turning cosmopolitan. Welcome to our times - Cebu on the throes of constant upswing transformation, peopled by the pages of this book - hopefully viewed with sympathy by the next generation.

The photographs Jon Unson have taken, fortunately, are all for art's sake. And like most of his works they often explore the nature of closeness and disaffection, sameness and anomaly, belonging and exclusion, the tension derived from sentimental expectations of what is supposed to be and the debacle of what really is. Or perhaps the timing is just a coincidence.

Something uncanny occurs in civilized people when they're suddenly confronted by a truth they have long repressed. Our dignity, after all, depends upon continence, in the broadest sense of the word, and Jon Unson's subjects leak their souls. Some sitters were in part souvenirs of initiation and trophies of acceptance.

Portraiture in whatever form is an autonomous high minded act. But if the pictures make you wonder how Jon got them and why his subjects consented to pose as they did, everyone with a true and false identity secretly knows the answer. In the process of becoming visible one risks being seen through. On the other hand the photographs have blurred the lines of class distinction and social roles, while the photographer harrowed the more subjective, unstable terrain of eroticism and gender.

Romero Vergara's aesthetics bring out a distinct reality that can only be described as his own. And it takes a publication like Zee to tackle the challenge of a unique perspective and bringing this vision into the mainstream.

Romero Vergara + Jon Unson

Please allow me to share a few of 117 lovely portraits....

Rose Amores Hudson, florist

Oj Hofer, fashion designer & aspiring bodhisattva

Joanna Maitland Smith-Lhuillier, bag & jewelry designer

Stephen Aznar, sommelier

Amparito Lhuillier, business+social doyenne

Kenneth Cobonpue, furniture designer

Marjay Ramirez, model

Miranda Konstantinidou, jewelry designer

Margot Osmena, First Lady of Cebu

Butch Carungay, jewelry designer

Rosebud Sala, interior decorator

Nina Kokseng-Misa, restaurateur

Jaja Chiongbian-Rama, entertainment media director

Behind the scenes:

Albi post mud-bath

with Jon and Romero prepping

Giveaways Galore!

Aside from all the support and admiration (Thank you sooo much for the fabulous mention , ABCD!) that is exchanged on Twitter and the Blog-a-delic world, there seems to be a bevy of lovely gifts being given away by our fabulous friends too! Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo is on a lovely roll with her 2nd Blog-I-Versary giveaway. This time, it is sweet bedding from Plum Pretty Sugar. The lucky winner will be announced on October 14th so go on over and tell them how badly your bed needs some cover up TLC!

ABCDragoo 

+

Plum Pretty Sugar

= Fabulous Bedding Blog-I-Versary Giveaway!

In honor of Columbus Day and Celebration of Exploration, my friends at Irwin Feld Design

are having their first ever droolworthy giveaway!!

Triangle New York Vintage Handbag

Cut Velvet with an Amber Resin Handle

Irwin and Marcy Feld, purveyors of fine Mid Century Modern furniture and accessories, are creative wunderkinds who complement each other so well with their range of artistic and business talents. After becoming Twitter friends, Marcy and I had the pleasure of lunching at Isabella's  for our tweetup in NYC one hot Summer day. Truly had a delightful time together as we exchanged stories so naturally that it felt like it wasn't our first meeting. As you can see from their gallery photos, Irwin is a master of mixing elements that result in a tableaux of spectacular juxtaposition. Marcy has a sweet genuine soul which reflects on her brilliant and moving writing about furniture makeovers,  love stories and sweet sibling devotion. This particular One caused tears and stained my pinafore, perhaps reminiscent of a romance that was never meant to be? (ha!) Before I digress, check out the wonderful details for you to win this cut velvet Triangle New York Vintage Handbag!

Become a fan of Irwin Feld Design on Facebook and explore the world of Mid Century Modern Design.

-      Only our Facebook fans will view “What’s New Tuesday”,our weekly sneak peak of new pieces in the gallery beforeANYBODY else.

-      Only our Facebook fans will have the opportunity to “Ask Irwin” questions about Mid Century Modern furnishings and design.

-      AND only our Facebook fans, who comment on our discussion page  Now through October 19^th at 12:00 noon, will automatically become eligible to win this elegant, vintage Trangle NY handbag.  A premier maker of handbags throughout the Mid 20^th Century, Triangle handbags represent the timeless elegance of Mid Century design.

So, what are you waiting for?

Run along now and

Be An Irwin Feld Design Facebook Fan

I am a Fan!

R

Go Girlfriend Go!

I first encountered Julia Rosien through Twitter. Even if we didn't engage much then, I could feel her energy reverberating through her tweets. Last August at the Withit education conference, we finally had the pleasure of getting to know each other. Over welcome cocktails at Vicky Payne's lovely home in South Charlotte, we found ourselves admiring the master sitting room and immediately plonked down on the plush lounge chairs. It was a welcome reprieve for our stiletto shod feet. She in patent burgundy peeptoes and I in tan gladiators. We immediately chatted like we already knew each other. Twitter has a way of breaking down the so called first meeting barriers and this is what I've noticed with many of my Twitter friends whom I've been fortunate to meet online and in real life. Julia is Natura's (the Go To for organic mattresses and green bedding needs) official Duchess of Sunshine. She weaves and spins her marketing brilliance with her beguiling charm and winning smile. Seriously, I've never met anyone who's made mattresses, good sleep and latex bedding sexy. Aside from talking mattresses, waking up at 5am to run miles and keeping her brood happy, she manages to find time to escapade with her girlfriends and tell us all about it on Go Girlfriend. After all, doesn't every woman need an occasional escape? The website has all kinds of travel covered from spas, beaches, ecotourism, romantic getaways, family friendly, arts and fashion, food and road trips. Reading the entries, I am reminded of fun adventures & misadventures and look forward to checking out the hotspots highlighted. Being an only child, I traveled more with girlfriends and on my own so I can truly relate. I want to thank Julia for her glowing review of Froulala's jetset pack: shoe and lingerie bags and my first online shoutout. I am still thrilled to bits!