SJP in Manila

Before there was Gossip Girl, there was Sex and the City between '98 & '04. Juicy, intriguing, witty, engaging. Especially for a girl who was barely allowed to watch a PG-13 movie on her own. It became one of my favorite shows of all time. So imagine my excitement and over obsessing when I found out that Sarah Jessica Parker  - the  Carrie Bradshaw - is coming to town. I just couldn't pass it up.

Working for the media does have it's perks. True, I cover Foreign Affairs and I have no reason being there aside from being a huge fan girl but I just had to weasel my way in by calling one of our producers in the network to get me on the list. So, I ended up going with our anchor Menchu who does the Cebuano Newscast and the Showbiz segments and Mai (another anchor) who hosts Newsday and does weather. It was Menchu who was working that night. Mai and I are just huge SATC fans. Hihihi.

Excited!

 SJP was here in Manila for a few days to attend the opening of SM's new mall at the Fort - the SM Aura Premiere. She's also the new face of the SM Store (which is basically the SM Department Store rebranded) and the mall's new Love to Shop campaign. Who better to represent a shopping campaign for upscale shoppers than the person who played Carrie, right? Carrie who spends 400 dollars on shoes and uses her kitchen as a closet. Such a character.

Oh hello, SJP!

The 48 year old actress played the character of Carrie from 1998 until 2004 for the series, followed by 2 SATC movies in the last couple of years. So I guess, it will be hard for most fans of the show to see her and the character as two different people. I must admit that I'm one of those fans. But SJP shares that she and the character she played have a lot of differences.

SJP cited Carrie's bolder fashion choices, saying that Carrie is more "courageous" about the way she dressed while SJP claims that she is not as.

That day, SJP faced the media with a sheer black dress with a body suit underneath that screamed glamour and sophistication rather than Carrie's quirky, New York street-designer style.

Classy.

Carrie is famous for her love of overly expensive footwear, which she described in Season 1 of SATC, as her type of substance abuse. And SJP's shoes that day would have surely made Ms Bradshaw proud.

As for more of their differences, Parker said that Bradshaw's life is more colorful than hers and also pointed out that she chose to have kids while Carrie did not.

SJP says that she finds Manila as an exciting city, that she even expressed love for the traffic. I'm not surprised since a New Yorker would definitely know about and learn to love heavy traffic. ;)

"I'm always attracted to cities. It's what my eyes see. Just driving around the city here, there's so much to see. The streets are so active, they're so alive. There's such a vibrancy to the city. I mean, I shop with my eye in some way too."

 "I always thought that Carrie was much more bold than I was and continue to be. I continue to be less bold. But I think I learned from her, playing that part for so long; that I think there's something exciting about breaking rules."

 “Nobody looks good when they’re adopting someone else’s persona. Buy something that makes you happy."

When asked what item in her closet she can never let go of, SJP gushed while saying  “A pair of old suede black Manolo Blahnik pumps.” Classic.

Before the press conference ended, host Joey Mead announced that SJP donated a hundred thousand dollars to the disadvantaged community in Taguig. Successful and generous. My kind of girl.

I guess my only disappointment was her hair. I would have loved seeing her all curly in Carrie. But that's just the fan girl in me, I guess.

More later.

XX,
C

PS: Thank you, boyfriend for letting me borrow your awesome wi-fi camera. Shooting with my old one would have definitely made me cranky. <3

On art and love

Taking a break from posting about my travels to talk about an ongoing exhibit here in Manila, which, if you're in the area, is worth a visit.

I would apologize in advance for my lack of photography skills as I am more used to being on the other side of the camera - but I think most of you know this by now if you've been reading this blog. I was also taking pictures using my Blackberry. Smartphone, lousy camera.

Anyhoo.We should go back to what I was talking about earlier - the exhibit.

Hope Springs Eternal is an art exhibit of career-diplomat slash artist Jeffrey Salik. It runs from April 22 up to the 26th - which is this Friday already.

Upon entering the exhibit, you'll notice a photo of this lovely lady:

Yoshino Suzuki Salik was Jeffrey's wife and the exhibit is being held in honor of her memory. After doing a little bit of googling on the artist, I found out that...

They met in April 2010 and got married 8 months later. But cruel fate took Yoshino away from her husband way too soon - she died of lung cancer in 2012.

But her husband has immortalized his wife's pretty smile in his artwork - which are all Japanese inspired.

Here are some of my favorites:

Sakura in April

Mountains at Dawn

Liberation

Sweet Nightfall

The paintings in the exhibit seem to be very reminiscent of the Sumi-e technique, very popular during the... hmm... if I'm not mistaken - the Muromachi period (14th century).

The paintings also feature the calligraphy of Yoshino's mom, Kiwako.

Jeffrey who started painting as a hobby in 2000, features his works made after Yoshino died - all of them were painted in Jordan, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines.

I don't know Jeffrey personally - but looking at his paintings reminds me of how love can transcend way beyond the physical. How it can remain despite inevitable separation.

See the paintings yourself at the Department of Foreign Affairs' Main Lobby - 2330 Roxas Boulevard.

More later.

XX,
C

As Promised (Part Une)

I have traveled a lot.  And I've been very passionate about it for the longest time. Even as a kid, I would always bug my mother to take me traveling. History books influenced me a lot. I like going to places where famous events in history happened. I'd stand there and imagine being alive during that time. I like experiencing different types of culture, seeing art, eating local food and basically, doing what the locals do. So while in Paris, I did exactly that. And though museums can be considered 'touristy' by some, I just couldn't pass up all the artwork. Years of art history obsession just won't let me.

And after years of traveling, I've accumulated a few favorites - I fondly call them my 'happy places' which would forever hold a special place in my heart.

One of them, Ladies and Gentlemen, is The Louvre.

View from a Sully wing window.

The world's most visited museum (about 8 million per year, according to museum staff - yes, I do have the tendency to chat them up as I always had this dream of being a part time curator) was a fortress turned royal palace and was France's actual seat of power until Louis XIV moved to the Versailles. 

Remnants of the fortress which was built during the 12th century can still be seen inside (Lower Ground Levels).

Before Going

You enter the museum through the pyramid - but before that, take a pretty photo! ;)

When visiting the Louvre, I suggest you get your tickets beforehand as lines to get inside and at ticket counters can be very long.

There are a number of ways but the easiest would be buying them online at the museum's website, or getting them at Fnac stores (which is what we did as buying them online would still entail picking them up either at Fnac or other accredited stores like Carrefour).

If you plan on going museum hopping, there is also the Paris Museum Pass. It gives you access to about 60 museums and monuments in and around the city. A 2-day pass will cost you 39 euros, 59 euros for 4 days, and 69 euros for 6.

The Louvre is huge. And most art pros would say that you'd need about three days to see each one of its nearly 35-thousand-piece collection properly. So before going, I suggest you list down the pieces you want to see. It will save you a lot of time since most of the key pieces are strategically placed in very-far-from-each-other areas of the three wings: Richelieu, Denon, and Sully.

What to See

Aphrodite/Venus de Milo by Praxiteles/Alexandros of Antioch
(Ground floor, almost at the corner of Denon and Sully, from the 'Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities' Collection)

She's stunning. She left me standing there transfixed by her beauty and the tragedy of her losing her arms. But her mutilation also adds mystery as they were never found, yet art historians are pretty positive that she really  had both arms when she was made. Some would even go as far as saying that one of them held an apple and the other one was positioned in such a way that she was holding the cloth draped over her lower body. Looking closely, I also found out that she has fixation holes. Which would mean that she wore jewelry. And after doing a bit of research, I found out that she did wear metal jewelry in her heydays.

The Code of Hammurabi
(Ground Floor, Richelieu Wing, Near Eastern Antiquities Collection)

Credit:  http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com

I cannot believe that my photo of the Code of Hammurabi is missing. Pffft. I guess quite a few of my trip's photos must be missing too so I shall have to do an inventory soon. Anyhoodles, seeing this gave me the creeps - the good kind. This right here is the oldest set of laws known to man, one of the oldest deciphered ancient writings, and it's where one of my favorite punishments for law-breaking (yes, I have a favorite punishment and I do believe in death penalty) was mentioned: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

Imagine living in Babylon in 1772 B.C. - speaking Akkadian, writing in cuneifom. Ah, my fantasies are getting ahead of me.

The Colossal Statue of Ramesses II 
(Ground floor, Sully Wing, Egyptian Antiquities Collection)

Humongous.

A sculpture fit for a king. Ramesses II is also known as Ramesses the great. He was prince regent at the age of 14 and assumed the throne in his late teens. The early years of his reign were spent on building cities, temples, and monuments.

I especially wanted to see his statue after reading about his mummy a few years back. During the 70's, Egyptologists noticed that the mummy of Ramesses II was not in a good state and they had to fly him to Paris for examination and treatment. Before being allowed to leave Egypt, the mummy was issued a passport - in which his occupation was listed as "King - deceased". When he arrived via plane in Paris, he was given full military honors - just like any other King.

St. Mary Magdalene by Gregor Erhart
(Lower Ground Floor, Room C - Sculptures)

Credit: http://www.flickr.com/people/13608110@N07/

Yet another photo missing from my trip. I'm starting to think that my Mom did not give me all the photos I left in her camera. Pffft. Will have to ask her to email them to me soon.

I have a thing for Mary Magdalene. She's my favorite biblical character - someone who's not perfect, who wasn't even considered 'good' in the normal sense, someone who was detested by society. But deep inside, she was a good person after all - she was only misunderstood. And best of all, she was loved by Jesus who saw through her. This sculpture of her in particular is made from Lime tree wood and I love how Erhart's carvings highlighted her grace. They say that she was originally carved with angels but they were later on removed after she was taken down from the church where she hung in Augsburg, Germany. Without the angels, it's much more obvious that Magdalene exudes sensuality but with class (look at how her legs and her hands are positioned). And her hair - it's just plain magnificent. It's color (a dark/mid-golden brown hue) also complements her skin's nude tones, giving her a life-like glow.

So that's part one of my Louvre post. The next post will have the Mona Lisa, the Napoleonic Apartments, and a lot more famous pieces. It's pretty late here and I still have a jogging date with the boyfriend, his dad, and our puppy Phoebe in a few hours.

Tootles for now. I'm sleepy. :)

XX,
C

That Long Parisian Walk

One of the things I love doing is taking long walks. Preferably with the boyfriend. We love taking walks after dinner and in between coffee. It's kind of our thing. Walking while talking about anything that comes to mind. And you know, what? We never get bored. :)

That's why I was telling him that we should take our long walks to Europe soon enough then visit my Dad's side of the family too. ;) Speaking of long walks in Europe, let me tell you about one of the loooong walks during my recent vacation in one of Paris' tourist-y areas.

First thing we (was with some of the family) did that day was take the Metro to Charles de Gaulle-Etoile station - the nearest Metro stop to the Arc de Triomphe.

The boyfriend has this photo in his room. :)

Commissioned in 1806, the Arc de Triomphe literally means 'Triumphal Arch' in English. It's a monument honoring the soldiers that fought for France during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.

The inner and outer surfaces of the Arc are inscribed with French victories as well as  Generals.

Intricate detail.

One thing about the French is they know their art. ;)

Another interesting thing at the Arc is the tomb of the tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WWI. It was built underneath the Arc in 1920. The eternal flame burns in memory of those who died during the First World War but were never identified.

In memoriam.

From the Arc, we went straight to almost every shopaholic's dream destination in Paris.

Shopping mecca.

Champs-Elysees roughly translates to Elysian Fields or Elysium. Which, in Greek mythology, is kinda like their own version of heaven.

I was rather reluctant to shop, though, as I was in such a hurry to get to the Louvre. But Mom said we had to stop for a bit to check out some of the shops. We bought a few things so very minimal wallet damage there. And you see, I'm not the over-shopping type who goes cuckoo in stores. Discipline and knowing what you want/need is key in shopping after all. I was rather  reckless with my money back when I wasn't the one earning it. My allowance would run out in a jiffy because of impulse shopping. Being a working girl with bills to pay, changed that. It makes you value your moolah. So now, I'm a bit more mature with my finances. Hee. ;)

At this point, I should be reminding you to drink lots of water during the walk. A cold, windy Paris during the winter can sometimes make you forget that you're actually thirsty. And you wouldn't want to get dehydrated while you're in Paris. There are drinking fountains around the city but you can never be so sure with those things  - even in Europe. So just to be safe, I always bring a little water bottle in my bag. 

Place de la Concorde is one of the first places in Paris where I was mistaken for as a Parisienne. Major compliment, if you ask me. ;) It's prolly cos of the short curls and the way I strut like I know the place like it's the back of my hand - when in reality, I'm just very good in finding my way. :-P

Luxor Obelisk and La Grande Roue.

The Luxor Obelisk is found at the center of the square. It originally marked the entrance to the Luxor Temple. It's 75 feet high and in 1829 was given to France by the then Ottoman Governor of Egypt Mehmet Ali Pasha to King Louis Phillippe. It arrived in Paris in 1833 and was placed on the square in 1836.

Overly excited smile.

The Fountain of River Commerce and Navigation  is one of the two fountains in the square (in photo above). This one is at the northern area of the square while the southern fountain is called The Fountain of Maritime Navigation. Collectively, they're known as the Fontaines de la Concorde. Designed by Jacques Ignance Hittorf, both fountains were completed in 1840.

The two buildings behind the fountain, with the rue Royal in between them are identical Louis Quinze  (Louis XV) style buildings. The Eastern building used to house the French Naval Ministry while the Western building, during WWII, was used by the German High Command.

The view..

For a good view of Paris, most tourists take La Grande Roue de Paris (aside from the Eiffel Tower). It's a portable Ferris Wheel that was first placed in this square for the Millenium celebrations. It has been transferred to the U.K., the Netherlands, and even Thailand. But now, it's back home in Paris.

Across the square comes the Jardin des Tuileries built by (not literally) Henry II's wife, Catherine de Medici in 1564. She had it built originally for the Tuileries Palace - the Parisian residence of most French monarchs. However, the palace was destroyed in 1871 during the Fourth French Revolution.

Aerial view of the Tuileries Garden. (photo from www.dorothyalexander.com)

The Tuileries is one of Paris' most famous sunbathing spots during the summer. I was really grateful for a bit of sun that day. However, it's just not warm enough to sun bathe as we were experiencing -1 to 0 degrees Celsius. :( Maybe the boyfriend and I can try it when we go and visit. I'll make sure we go in the summer. ;) 

The garden is also adorned with beautiful sculptures from the 19th century. Which only seems fit as the garden is one of the best ways to get to the Louvre.

That's a real bird on top of his head.

Walking from the fountain towards the direction of the Louvre, you'll have to go through the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. It's located where the Tuileries Palace used to stand and it serves as the gateway from the garden to one my happy happy happy places in this huge planet of ours  - the  Louvre.

Off to my Elysium! <3

Which I shall write about next time. :)

xx,

C 

On Love and Luck

V-Day

Last Thursday was prolly my most domesticated Valentine's day ever. We did not want to get stuck in traffic nor did we want to wait for dinner (since most restaurants are prolly fully booked) as we have very limited time. Because of rotation, I'm was on the midnight shift for 2 weeks, you see (but it's over now! Back to being a day reporter come Monday!)

So I told him that we should stay in. We ordered pizza and chicken and we had dinner at home and watched the Travel and Leisure Channel while waiting for the delivery.

And it wasn't boring at all. I still find it funny how we can talk about anything and everything for hours (even all day) and never get tired of each other's voices or opinion. Two people with really different personalities really do complement each other.

I love that my grandparents love him. Like, whenever he's around, my grandmother goes into chatter mode and they just talk and talk like really good friends.

Sweetness.

It's also adorable how he remembers the little things I tell him that I do. How he recalls my quirks and weird habits. I once told him that I get ready for work while singing and dancing around in my room. It wakes me up and puts in the mood to start the day. I usually use my Macbook to listen to music and at one point, I even broke it after my face mirror fell on top of it while I was getting ready. So the attentive (and 'I give useful gifts') type of boyfriend that he is got me speakers for my iTouch. Yay! My early morning concerts are now going to be louder - which may just be a bad thing for my grandparents. But they love me so I'm sure they can endure it. Hihi.

I love how he takes me out with his parents. And how we had movie night last weekend at his dad's. I love how he's the kind of guy who has actually read Les Miserables in high school (like me!) - way before the movie version came out.

I like knowing that we're both crazy about traveling. And not the lame tourist kind of trips but the history and culture-rich type of traveling.

We're both dorks about that, I guess.

But the best thing is that it's like, whenever we're together, everything is just a-okay. Screw what everyone else thinks or whatever shit (which is usually blown out of proportion anyways) they're saying. 

I'm not saying that we're perfect. No, we're actually far from that. We started out as trouble (and that's still kind of an understatement). People even got hurt to make way for this relationship to work out. I'm even one of those people who got hurt at first. But after all hell broke out and we got through it all, everything's fine now. Everything's easier and ten times better these days. And honestly, I couldn't be happier. :)

***

On Luck

We were in China town yesterday where we had our fortunes read by a Feng Shui Master. We went a week after the Chinese New Year to avoid the crazy-huge crowd as the two of us do have the tendency to get dizzy when surrounded by too much people under the heat of the sun.

The boyfriend who's a wood rat is generally luckier than me who's born as an earth snake. I was told to watch my health this year and avoid stress. Which is pretty much impossible as one of the foundations of my job is stress. However, loving what I do should actually help me de-stress along with spending time with ze boyfriend and getting a massage either with Ish or Khumille.

One thing that really caught my attention during the Feng Shui reading was when I was told not to mind people who are saying horrible things, most of the time lies even, to break us apart. In the Feng Shui master's words: May mga taong nanininira lang talaga dahil sa inggit.

Wow. Spot on. I was being stalked by this girl who's been saying awful things about me and my boyfriend online. I never gave her that much thought nor did I ever reply to her weird Facebook messages that started late last year or her tweets. It even went as far as her following then un-following me on twitter, favoriting then un-favorting some of my tweets, posting old photos while tagging me just for me to notice her then deleting it then reposting it again without the tag... God, it was just plain psycho. I told my boyfriend about it and he was so pissed. It's been so long and she just won't stop. I've been ignoring and I'm pretty sure that's the right thing to do so I shall continue to do so. Even if she continues to try to make me notice her with all those tags. Which is just plain creepy, btw.

No relationship is a guarantee but we were told that we're lucky in love this year and our plans for this year are bound to be lucky too. Yay for that! I was just told that I have to be careful in being involved with a third party. Which is not always a person, guys. It can be a heavy attachment to something (which I think I am much more prone to than seeing other men as I am obviously on a long-standing and continuous high cos of this guy. Ah, love. Makes you sound cuckoo sometimes, doesn't it?) - like work. And I do have the tendency to be a workaholic. However, I did promise the boyfriend that I shall always make time for him the way he does for me and not let my work get in our way. <3 <3 And besides, we're lucky this year, remember? So I should be able to breeze right through my career schedule. Even with the elections coming up. Hihi.

We were told that money and career are also bound to be great but I might have a problem with 'conflicts' this year. Hmm. I guess I should really stay away from people carrying bad juju and start being a bit more positive than I already am. ;)

So there. Looks like it's gonna be a great year for us. :D It's nice having things like Feng Shui to tell you about what may come this year. Even the boyfriend sees the practicality in it. However, we must always remember that in life, we make our own luck. And the choice to have a happy life or to change for the better is always up to us and the decisions we make.

More later.

XX,
C

La Seine

One of the things that I was really looking forward to seeing in Paris was the River Seine.

No, that is not a Disney Castle.

Walking along its banks in Paris on a rather cold (-3 C) January day got me all giddy/dorky and started imagining Javert's last moments. (Sorry for the dorky Les Miserables reference. :-P)

The Seine, which is 776 kilometers long, is France's second largest river (next to Loire). It's rather famous for the roles it played during wars and the artistic movement in one of Europe's most cultured cities.

Just in Paris, there are already about 37 bridges over the Seine. The most famous of them is the Pont Neuf.

The Pont Neuf literally means "new bridge". Ironically, it is the longest standing bridge in Paris that goes across the Seine. Construction began 1578 and ended in 1607.

Pont Neuf.

One more interesting thing about the Pont Neuf is that during the 18th century, it was also considered as the center of Paris. This bridge is so pretty and famous that it has been painted (one of my favorites is Auguste Renoir's Pont Neuf) and used for several films (a must watch: Les Amants du Pont-Neuf) throughout the ages.

From the Pont Neuf, you can also see the La Samaritaine. 

Named after a former pumping station, the La Samaritaine is one of the oldest department stores. First opened in 1869 by Ernest Cognacq, it was closed down in 2005 due to not having met the building safety standards of the city. It is set to be reopened in 2013 as a residential and office space after a major rehabilitation. Though closed, the building is a must see for Art Deco and Art Nouveau architecture fans as the building's facade still has that classic vintage feel despite the rotting foundations inside.

While walking along the banks of the Seine, I found various book stalls.

They go from this...

...to this!

They have a very good selection there. Like classic Jules Verne titles. Some even have the rare, first edition covers!

The downside, though, is that most titles are in French. I saw a few Tolstoy titles in English but that was it. However, browsing through the titles was still very much enjoyable. Euphoric, even. Or maybe that's just the nerd in me talking.

One important thing while navigating by foot around Paris, is knowing the left bank (La Rive Gauche) from the right bank (La Rive Droite). Most tourists get confused by this and the trick is to face downriver (the direction where the river is flowing) and your left side will be the left bank and the your right is well, you get it by now.

It should be easy enough but most tourists still get confused. And it's rather important to know which is which as most Parisians use this to give directions.

Things to see on the left bank: Eiffel Tower, Musee d'Orsay, Paris Catacombs, Montparnasse Cemetery, Latin Quarter, The Luxembourg Gardens, Les Invalides, Napoleon's Tomb, Les Deux Magots Cafe, Musee Rodin, Pantheon, Boulevard Saint-Germain, etc.

On the right bank: Champs-Elysees, Louvre Museum, Arc de Triomphe, Tuileries Gardens, Montmartre, Sacre Coeur, Moulin Rouge, Opera de Paris, Bastille Opera, etc.

And one last thing that I recommend doing to actually see the Seine's beauty is to take the Metro from Charles de Gaulle- Etoile to Bir-Hakeim a few moments before sunset. At some point, the tracks will leave the underground and give you a splendid view of the Eiffel Tower. Kinda like this:

One of my favorite photos of my Paris leg of the trip. (Which I took, btw)

Well I hope that was informative. I'm thinking of writing about the Louvre next so that should be a long post. Wait for it. :)

There's still going to be more on the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, and much more of Paris up in this blog soon. Detailed travel blog entries, anyone? ;)

XX,

C

P.S. This was written a few days ago. I'm thinking of putting something up for Valentine's day too. Maybe later, though. After I finish everything I have to do before tonight. ;)

And We're Back

Regular programming, folks. After a hiatus that ran for months, it's time to say hey to 2013 and kick out all the bad juju that 2012 brought in during the fourth quarter. (Though I must say that another psycho tried to ruin my mood the past days. But hey,  better that they're ignored. Even if they're the ones attacking you first then playing innocent. Really. Never let a crazy stalker person get to you.)

All's well these days especially after I got back from a month long trip to Europe to visit family and see old & new places. I'll be writing separate posts for most of them  - especially the museums. I might give some travel ideas for those of you who want to give Europe a try for your next vacation. Where to go and definitely where NOT to go (cos really, stay away from tourist traps).

I decided to take blogging a bit more seriously these days cos I miss writing about what I'm thinking and not just about what's happening over the West Philippine Sea dispute, electoral sabotage cases, and the upcoming elections. Don't get me wrong. I love doing those things. But sometimes, you miss writing about the things you do outside work. I've been such a workaholic prior to my vacation that I started cracking. I missed having a place to release my brain farts. Hee.

I actually planned on doing this earlier but traveling everyday for the past month took so much of my time. Also, my personal life is going really well and I've been guilty of spending way too much time on that lately. Not complaining though. :"> So anyhoodles, I've got a Europe post that I was working on a few days ago which I might post in a few minutes (or hours depending on how long my shower will be). And no, I will not stop being too candid.

As for the long-requested product reviews, I have quite a few waiting. A little bit of Schwarzkopf and MAC favorites in the coming days. So wait for that, okay? I know it's a bit late but I will still review two shades from the MAC for Marilyn Monroe collection in the coming days. Why? Cos they're so pretty and I'm such a sucker for anything Marilyn (and Audrey Hepburn too).

In other news, I have finally succeeded in regrowing my nails. So yes, bye-bye nail biting!

May I present, your honor, evidence of my final battle with nail biting. Spoiler alert: I won. ;)

Granted that turquoise is usually not part of my nail color choices, as I am usually a blood red or nude kind of girl, I still think that it came out pretty well. I was trying to be adventurous in my choices that day and I momentarily gave myself a shock when I picked that color. Good thing it still looks good and not too juvenile. Anyways, my toenails remain to be loyal as they are nude. I'm planning on getting a mani-pedi on Tuesday with my good friend Ish so I might be back to my usual self then.

More in a few.

XX,
C