Before I begin talking more about certain things for this post, I want to share something really important. My dad hasn’t been feeling well (he doesn’t show it) and this greatly concerns me (it makes me teary actually ) – I hope that it’s nothing serious. I would really appreciate it if you can include him in your prayers. Thank you very much! *Hug*

Faith is indeed an amazing thing – it makes us go beyond what is mundane, it makes us go on believing. I have faith that my dad will be alright. I am juggling things at the moment and I am working on something for my future (it’s something big actually), I have no control over how it will turn out but I do have faith that it will be alright.

This thing called faith presents itself to anyone and everyone (whatever age, size, race), at any given time (tomorrow or even today) and in different forms (may it be while your on your way to lunch or while you are munching on your cereal). It is (also) indeed overwhelming (in a very good way) when I see it in other people or when I experience it with other people.

A few weeks ago, we celebrated Sinulog here in Cebu. For those who aren’t familiar with this event, it is a yearly mardi gras (usually the second sunday of January) in Cebu (it is one of the grandest festivals in the Philippines) greatly celebrated to honor Señor Sto. Niño, the child Jesus. People from all over the Philippines and a great deal of tourists make it a point to come here for this celebration (flights and accommodations are fully booked by december more or less). The streets are usually packed and people forego using their cars and basically just walk on the streets – dancing to the beat, watching the floats and various participants in brightly colored costumes dancing in the parade or simply enjoying some munchies being sold by vendors lined up on the street. I’ll stop explaining for now and show you some pictures instead.

If you think this is amazing (because it really is!), I just want you to know that this isn’t even the main Sinulog event yet. People go to mass as early as 4;30 in the morning for nine days leading up to the Sinulog proper.

Face Painting

We at PIID Cebu (the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers – Cebu) are starting to make it a yearly thing to hold a face painting booth during Sinulog as a fundraiser. I am still getting used to painting stuff on people (especially on their faces! haha) but it is indeed fun and it doesn’t hurt to get a hug from cute little kiddies who get their faces painted with pandas.

Here I am! (By the way, the butterfly Polaris’ painted above was super pretty.)

Sinulog Participants

More than 20 contingents (and their participants) from all over the Philippines (Lanao del Sur, Cagayan de Oro, etc.)  join in this yearly celebration of devotion – rain or shine (it was raining a great deal this year and everyone got soaked), they continue on dancing and we continue on cheering for them and joining in. (Little trivia – I’ve been going to this since I was a kid.)

With regards to the third and fourth picture in this set, the Cebu Contingent (being the host) was paying tribute to how the Chinese have greatly influenced our culture (when they came to live here many years ago, prior to the colonization of countries such as Spain and the United States). The fireworks was amazing this year!

In general, I took a gazillion (gazillion pictures) during the Sinulog but limited the pictures to be displayed in this post. I look forward to many more Sinulog celebrations to come (this celebration never fails to overwhelm me)! Pit Señor!

Have faith everyone – may it be in the smallest things and more importantly in yourself (and all your endeavours – I have faith in mine, more specifically the academic one at present. Please pray for me on this as well. Thanks!).

“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” – Gail Devers

P.S. On a side note (since I was craving the night before and it was really late already), I made some mashed potatoes earlier today – I mashed away because I usually like this done smooth and a bit creamy. I added a couple of herbs, a hint of garlic and some beef broth in mine. Yummmm! I love black pepper too! I sprinkle in on most of the stuff I eat. Haha.

P.P.S. Here are a couple of links. If I have, by some way, made you more curious about Sinulog, you may get more information about it here. If you wish to experience Sinulog with us, do drop by! The website above contains details on how to go about it. If you wish to check out my very first post for this year, click here. If you wish to know about the color of the year for 2011, click here.

I had planned on doing a trends post for this year (in terms of interior design), I have yet to finalize that. Speaking of trends, Pantone had released their Color of the Year (for 2011) late last year (December) and I think most of you know what it is. For those who don’t know yet, it’s Honeysuckle.

Pantone describes it as a courageous, confident and vital color – “a brave new color, for a brave new world.” Last year’s   color, Turquoise (Pantone 15-5519) represented a comforting escape and serenity. This year’s color inspires us to face everyday head on.

As described, it  (Pantone 18-2120) is a dynamic reddish pink hue which is both encouraging and uplifting. Leatrice Eiseman (the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute) explains that Honeysuckle allures and engages. It “may also bring a wave of nostalgia for its associated delicious scent reminiscent of the carefree days of spring and summer.”

If you wish to incorporate this hue in your homes (or in other interiors) this year, don’t fret. The dynamic aspect of Honeysuckle (it is such a pretty color!) doesn’t make it a difficult color to work with. It can be incorporated gradually by starting off with certain pieces. It can be integrated in your  dining room and even in your kitchen (Little Trivia – Honeysuckle is an appetite and conversation stimulant, perfect for your dining area). You can carry out the hue through certain key pieces – examples include linens, candles and even glassware. By the way, you can refer to the mood board I made below (featuring honeysuckle-hued pieces to give you some ideas). I love making mood boards!

For those who aren’t afraid to utilize this hue on a much bigger scale, you may do so by using this on your walls (as an accent color wall or even for your entry way) or by incorporating it on bigger pieces of furniture (such as armchairs or even couches). It can also be incorporated in areas which need an upbeat touch (this can be used in a small powder room or a little girl’s room). For visual examples, check out a couple of interiors below.

You may go all out with this hue (please refer to first picture) or if you wish to go with a more gradual approach, you may use it as an accent color for that certain punch of color in your spaces (please refer to the second and third picture, beautifully executed by Betty Murdock Interiors).

I encourage all of you to play around with this color and consider incorporating it in your spaces this year. I hope it will “instill confidence, courage and spirit (within you) to meet the exhaustive challenges that have become part of everyday life”.

P.S. You can incorporate it in your wardrobe too!

P.P.S. Do check out my very first post for this year. Click here. Thanks!

I am now a proper Godmother (english accent). Yup, its officially (for a few days now actually). You might all wonder why it’s such a big deal for me. I mean, why wouldn’t it be?

Before delving more into that, I want to wish everyone a happy new year (let’s pretend that it’s still the first week of january with regards to the prior statement). What better way to do that than to post a couple of pictures from new year’s eve, I say. (We have fireworks every year and it’s amazing. I advocate safety when dealing with fireworks and being responsible.)

I just took a couple of shots since I was busy watching the fireworks, making sure that Georgia was ok and basically just having fun. I love how these shots turned out.

Back to being a Godmother – I just thought that my first ever post for this year should commemorate something meaningful and I believe that welcoming and celebrating new life is the perfect way to go about it. I unfortunately do not have pictures during the baptism ceremony since I wanted to focus more on godmother duties and just take pictures during the after part (they had a photographer on hand which is a plus – I’ll get pictures from him).

I had to take pictures of little Andi’s cakes – they were really pretty!

With the little one (Yup, this is her. Meet the little darling.)

Can I keep her? Please? (Welcome to the world, little Andi! You are Mommy Pau’s little darling. Aside from Georgia of course. Teehee.) Congrats Mommy Shaki and Daddy Nico!

“A child is the greatest gift that our lives can bestow, it brings the most exquisite joy that we will ever know.”

P.S. On an interior design-related note, here are a couple of pictures from the Hafele Presentation and the Green Architecture forum with Archt. Miguel Guerrero as one of the speakers.

Häfele Presentation

This featured the debut of their state-of-the-art kitchen systems as well as a background on the company. For those who aren’t familiar with Häfele, it was established in Germany and evolved from a local hardware business into a global company. Häfele Philippines was formally founded in 1995 and Cebu got its own sales office with a smaller warehouse in Mandaue City.

Not only do they provide architectural hardware and furniture fittings but they also have home appliances (with constant innovations).  I developed an affinity for their sophisticated coffee center – it produces creamy milk foam and can make coffee, espresso, latte and even cappuccino! (Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take a picture of the coffee center but I do have a couple of shots of the fittings – below.)

Green Architecture Forum

The forum started out with a talk from Dr. Glen Martin Green (he has a degree in petroleum engineering and a Ph. D. in Earth and Planetary Science from the United States). I especially found his talk to be one of the most comprehensive ones I have been to (to date) and it was certainly insightful. One aspect of his talk was about the Peak Oil Crisis which is still widely unknown to most of us. He basically defined it as “the point in time when a region’s oil production is at it’s maximum, when production reaches its all time high and then begins a relentless and irreversible decline as depletion progresses”.

Archt. Miguel C. Guerrero III, fuap, APEC architect, assocAIA, Green AP was also one of the guest speakers for the said forum. He is a member of  Green Architecture Advocacy Philippines, Inc. – they promote the practice of green architecture in the built environment. He discussed his ten steps to sustainability. A quick rundown – 1. Keep the sun out, 2. Let light in, 3. Catch some breeze, 4. Insulate roofing, 5. Harvest rain, 6. Recycle wastewater, 7. Efficient lighting, 8. Thermal comfort, 9. Renewable materials, 10. Alternative energy.

P.P.S. Upcoming Post Teaser

Here is to a promising 2011, Everyone! Cheers!