I did say yesterday that it was going to be a long day, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Saying it was a rollercoaster of emotions is an understatement.

Aside from the two gatherings I blogged about, my friend from the office Mich also asked if we can visit our friend Poly who got operated on the other day. We made a quick pit-stop at the Makati Medical Center to cheer her up a bit.

Here're what happened yesterday:

I'm sad I wasn't able to stay long for more photos with them. At around 3:30PM, Mich and I left for Makati Med. Poly is one of the closest girl friends I've made in HSBC. She only stayed in our team for a couple of months but we really bonded like we have been friends for so long already. The three of us (Mich, Poly and I) make it a point to go out at least once a month to just eat out and watch a movie or shop. Sometimes we do all three heehee. You may remember her in the posts I made when we went to Banapple, and when we watched Love & Other Drugs. 

She has been complaining for tummy aches for months now. After not finding anything in the colonoscopy, the doctors decided to operate on her after seeing how ill she looked. During the operation, they saw that her intestines have become clamped together. They needed to remove two feet of her intestines in a three-hour operation and then stitch her up  again. She is now recovering but still very weak, and she can't eat yet so she has all these wires connected to her. Just seeing them makes me wince in pain already. What a grueling procedure for someone to go through :( Looking at the photo it's a wonder how she can still find the will to pose and smile, but that's darling Poly to you :)

A little before 6:00PM, Mich and I had to say goodbye so I can meet Jessica to go to Century Park Hotel in Manila for Kym and Winmark's post-wedding reception. After changing my clothes and putting my makeup on, we met Jess at Jupiter Street. After getting lost a bit, we reached the venue at 7:10PM.

The reception was beautiful, I wish I was at their wedding in Canada because all the photos Tracey took at their wedding were all so lovely! Click here to see the slideshow, I promise you it's more than worth the visit! ;) Kym and Winmark's reception deserves a separate blog entry (I got teary-eyed at least thrice because the happiness in the hall plus the beautiful words at the speeches, not to mention the abundance of food LOL, got a little too overwhelming to take in), but let me share with you guys what I wore:

And a fun photo with the bride, of course:

I'm sure Kym's and my mutual blog-friends are so excited for more photos from the reception. I'm sorry guys for making you more jealous, but Jess and I will meet her again tonight for a night-out! We'll have dinner, and most probably visit a KTV, too! Soooo excited for more bonding with them!

Later! ;)

Today is going to be a long day, and let me tell you why.

I will go to two different events that wouldn't have been possible if I didn't sit in front of my computer on that fateful day on September 2008 and create this blog. I have been happy and content in my Multiply journal, but, inspired by the first few beauty blogs I have bookmarked before (because I wanted to learn how to do my own makeup), Krissyfied was born.

Today, two of my closest blog-friends invited me to two different gatherings. Hence, the two dresses.

I will wear the black and white chessboard dress to a bloggers' lunch/ afternoon snacks-date at the Omakase Restaurant in Greenhills organized by Honey. She will migrate to Kuwait soon and we might not see her for a very long time. I will miss her, and I wish her all the best in life and in luck ♥

The purple satin peacock-print dress was love at first sight. I have been scouring the malls for weeks for a pretty dress to wear on Kym and Winmark's post-wedding reception tonight at the Century Park Hotel, but when I saw this in Candie's the other day I knew instantly that it is THE dress. 

I have had the chance to be with the couple when I met with Kym last Monday because Winmark and their families were also there, and I can vouch how loved-up they are. It is hard to find perfectly-matched couples these days, but one look at them and you can easily tell how compatible they are. I wish them all the love and happiness in the world, and  I can't wait to see their beautiful babies ♥

Because of blogging, the world has become smaller and my social circle, wider. I have always been very vocal about how thankful I am that this blog has become a great avenue to meet new people who will hopefully become my friends. One of the best friends I met through blogging is Kym (regular office-worker by day, t-shirt designer and ninja by night), a Filipina whose family migrated to Hong Kong when she was two years old, then to Canada when she was eleven. She recently got married, and a day after her wedding she and Winmark, together with their respective families, flew to Manila to celebrate the happy news with their relatives here.

Of course I wouldn't let this opportunity pass without meeting her, would I?

We planned a shopping day after her reception here this coming Saturday together with our other friend Jessica, but last Monday, (because Kym knew it was my rest day from work) Kym invited me to Greenhills for a spontaneous meet-up/ shopping day. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I was to finally meet her!

While waiting at our appointed meeting place, I was surprised when a pair of hands suddenly grabbed me! IT WAS KYM!! We caused quite a bit of a racket, hugging and laughing and jumping around. It was amazing-crazy-awesome :)

Everyone, meet Kym! Go visit her blog if you haven't yet :)

We spent about an hour going around the different shops in Shoppesville, Theater Mall, and Virra Mall with her best friend Bernice and her sister-in-law Winella. It was fun seeing them haggle with the stall vendors, trying their best not too look like they're from abroad so the prices won't be jacked up. We also talked a lot about how cheaper it is here as compared to Canada. True enough, when we met with their families, they were all carrying lots of carrier bags! :p

Kym and I weren't able to take lots of photos, especially those jump-shots (haha) our other blog-friends have requested as it was quite crowded in the mall. We promise to do those on our next date! ;D

Kym and Krissy :)

After a thousand blog comments in each other's blogs, a hundred tweets, What's App messages, and Facebook wall posts and private messages, I am so happy I finally got to meet Kym in person and hang-out for real! It was so awesome that it seemed like we do this meeting-for-shopping thing regularly. Kym is so sweet, so bubbly and energetic, and so pretty! I love this girl!

Look, aside from a giftcard. Kym also gave me this pretty F21 necklace ♥

Aside from meeting Kym, I was also able to claim one of my prizes from Ana's giveaway: a pair of shoes (of my choice) from Pill Footwear. It was difficult to choose because all of the shoes available are so pretty, but in the end I chose this:

So purrrrty ♥ I picked this pair because the design is not normally one I would choose to buy if the money will come from my own pocket. Kinda like a "luxury item", you know.

I am also very proud of myself for not succumbing to the luring temptations of pretty dresses available for sale! Or maybe I really don't have money left any more?

Thank you soooo much, Kym! See you on Saturday, I'm sure you will look absolutely divine!

One event I regret not being able to attend is the unveiling of Coca-Cola Philippines and World Wildlife Fund's billboard in EDSA. Now before you say, "What? Surely there's nothing exciting about seeing a humongous piece of advertisement in Manila's busiest highway?", let me advise you that this billboard is actually the first of its kind in that it is actually made of, wait for it, PLANTS.

I wasn't able to go because my request for a half-day shift was not approved. The billboard was launched last Thursday, and I was invited by my friend Ed who also invited me to the Sebago event later in the day which I was able to attend. Even though I wasn't able to come I still wanted to share it with you guys because I really think it is very interesting and commendable. I'm sure it will go down in history as an iconic structure to represent the long-standing partnership between Coca-Cola and WWF to make a positive difference in the environment.

Some facts:

With all the eco-friendly mechanism it employs and the relevant advocacy it stands for, this innovative advertising is a salient reminder for everyone to take an active hand in protecting and saving the environment. A big congratulatory hug to the big minds and hearts behind this project!

I hope I am not being too preachy here, but the world will be a much better place for all of us if only we are more conscious of taking care of our environment. Collective effort does wonders, and it is never too late to do our part. Let us all be the positive change we want to see in the world ;)

For more information about Coca-Cola Philippines and WWF, please visit their websites: www.livepositively.com.ph and www.wwf.org.ph.

Last Thursday, I - with my friends from the office Mich and Frank and my Fashion Compass co-editor Ana -  braved the rains to go to Greenbelt 5 where Sebago X 65 was launched. In celebration of Sebago's 65th anniversary, an exhibit and silent auction featuring footwear art designed by the country's top personalities from different fields was held for the benefit of the Habitat for Humanity.

You can read all about the event on the post I made for Fashion Compass, for this post I would like to share some fun photos :)

Some snaps with famous people:

I advise you to check out the exhibit at The Gallery and see these exquisite works of art in person! For those who can't go, let me share with you my favorites. In no particular order:

Everything is all kinds of amazing, yes? Click here to see the rest of the other designs ;)

I love attending events like this because they are perfect opportunities to primp, prettify, and dress up ♥ I channeled my inner Emma Watson for People Tree in this get-up :)

Big thanks to my friend Ed for inviting us! It was hell trying to go home because of the typhoon and we almost got stranded (got home 30 minutes before midnight), but it's all worth it! It's ALWAYS a pleasure to attend your events, especially since we still get to bond after ♥ Special thanks as well to my friend Frank who has lent his precious time with us and volunteered to be Fashion Compass' official photographer! All photos from the event were taken by him :) Everyone's support has been overwhelming, and really, the best thing I can do is give thanks to all of you ♥

Yesterday I posted about feeling under the weather again because of some things that reminded me of some memories that are better best forgotten. Since I've been feeling sad again, I have gone back to my certified sadness-buster and hope-restorer: re-reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. Long-time readers of my blog are witnesses to the great number of times I have waxed lyrical about this book and how it has helped me deal with a lot of issues I went through last year. One would only need to do a quick search of the book title in this blog's Search widget and you would see proof of how much I've gushed about it and the lessons I've learned from it. During idle moments I just pore over my copy and re-read random bits of it. My book looks old already, but I didn't care. If anything, I took more pride with it as I considered the creases on the spine as proof of how loved the book was.

Now let's continue with my story. As I have acknowledged in yesterday's post, there's always someone who snaps me back and reminds me life is wonderful and there's no sense being sad about things beyond my control. Yesterday my friends Mich and Jonas assumed that role. They were out looking for an apartment for Jonas so I went out and met them after work to take my mind off things for a while. We ate at Jollibee, where we exchanged amusing stories while eating - they even bought me a cup of Rocky Road Brownie Sundae for dessert. It certainly took my mind off things, to the extent that we were already halfway home when I realized I left my beloved book on the table :(

Today I went back there to check, but the service crew told me they don't have it. I can post here and complain about how they were unhelpful (when I asked one of the crew if they saw my book, she just looked at me and said "I'm sorry, I wasn't here yesterday." as if she couldn't ask one of her workmates and check whether my book was found while our table was getting cleared) but it won't bring me my book back. Maybe I just wasn't assertive enough.Or maybe someone did endorse it but they've already forgotten about it. Sigh.

I have a copy of the book in my Kindle app, but I really prefer my dog-eared old copy. I feel really sad, but letting the sadness consume me won't bring me even a page of my book back. I take comfort in the thought that it was found by someone - a "lost soul" who really needs it.

Also, as Ana pointed out, maybe I lost it because I don't need a "guide" anymore. I will be very happy if that is really the case, then ;)

I'll leave you now with some of my favorite quotes from the book ♥

"You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight." 

"But if you can plant yourself in stillness long enough, you will, in time, experience the truth that everything (both uncomfortable and lovely) does eventually pass." 

"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it." 

"Someday you're gonna look back on this moment of your life as such a sweet time of grieving. You'll see that you were in mourning and your heart was broken, but your life was changing..."