BLESS x Longchamp

When my friend JP went to Europe last year I asked him to hunt for this bag. He has been wanting this bag, too, but he wasn't lucky to find it that time. He went to many Longchamps store but it's sold out. Months later one of his friends finally found 3 pieces. He offered to get one for me. Of course, I couldn't say no! The hunt is over and I'm so happy to add this piece of amazing design to my little bag collection. I really think it's one of the best collaboration Longchamp has ever produced. I really enjoyed the transformation process from its bracelet form and with just a zip open it can unroll into the bag form.

1961

Last Friday I attended the opening of my friend Loven and Faith Ramos' hospitality and art gallery enclave, 1961. It promises to be an exciting destination for art and lifestyle. It's not fully operational yet but we got a taste of what's to expect with a thought provoking exhibition by Ben Thynal at the main gallery called V. We also checked out the rooms as designed by Rachel Faller, Inal K., Tim Robertson and Loven, himself. In the lobby area, Kyota Hyoda, exhibited interesting artworks that somehow remixes manga in a form I haven't seen before. It's a must-see here in Siem Reap!

Thrifting News

I went thrifting today. My goal was to find some bags but the selection didn't excite me except for a small leather pouch, which I got for 1000 riels.

I checked out the clothes and was really encouraged. Aside from pieces by Tsumori Chisato, Agnes B. and Michel Klein, I also found Comme des Garcons and Issey Miyake.

This Comme des Garcons top is designed like 2 shirts is sandwich-ing a light padding. The breast pocket is inside, as well as the printed label.

I also found this blue Issey Miyake dress in the same lot. I got both pieces at 1000 riels each (more or less 10 pesos each).

My friend Cielo also found this Maison Martin Margiela Ligne 10 grey tee in the same thrift market. I'm so happy because it has been lightly used and still looks brand new. She got it for 500 riels or about 5 pesos.

I also went thrifting in Phnom Penh when I went there with my family. I mostly got bags. I found a suede Miu Miu tote, Y'saacs Pour Femme hand bag, Porter tote and lots of other Japanese labels, which my sister and mom hoarded. Here's the pieces I got for myself:

Y'saccs Pour Homme nylon belt bag. I like that it's so light but sturdy. Got it for $2.00.

Margaret Howell canvas tote bag. Inspired by function and utility, indeed. This one is $1.00.

Jean Paul Gaultier patent leather bag with airport tags detail. I was so happy to find this never used JPG bag with tags and care card intact. It was originally sold by WHY Japan. I got this for $2.00, which I think is nowhere near its original price. Quite lovely, don't you think?

Amansara Dinner

The other day I was invited by my besties Faith and Loven for a simple dinner at Amansara. I always LOVE having meals there. It's not ostentasious but exudes elegance in a manner that's refined and cultivated. I always feel the same way when I eat at the home of Tito Gil and Tita Cora Kabayao. Nothing overtly formal but at the same time you know every detail, every morsel and crumb was given attention and thought. I mean just the simple flower arrangement that greeted me in Amansara evoked the mood that followed. I wished I had a camera to record what I ate. I terribly miss my Ricoh and I hope to get a replacement soon. Anyway, I had lentil and sour cream soup for starters. It's like a fusion of daal soup and raita in one bowl. It was quite interesting especially paired with their bromite free bread. For my main I had seabass with artichokes salad. It was delicious and light. The highlight though was the dessert of ricotta cheese inside an eggwhite roll with blueberry ice cream. Quite similar to Brazo de Mercedes except for the ricotta filling. I had another serving because it was that amazing. Faith promised to give me that on my birthday! I forgot the name of the wine but it was a sauvignon blanc. I was so full and sleepy after the meal.

Food for Thoughts

Finally I'm connected online here in the house. I can enjoy iced tea while reading my fave blogs and checking my emails. I actually miss turbo blogging.

These past weeks I've been busy producing my fall/winter 2011 collection. My family visited me briefly and I had to be with them all the time when they were here in Siem Reap. But now I'm totally focusing my time making the samples before I go on another trip. Yesterday, we finally solved the volume concern of our skirts and pants. I'm immensely satisfied with the pattern we created. Today we are just replicating the patterns in different fabrics for Poetry and for the capsule collection I'm doing for Philippine Fashion Week in May.

Since I've been staying at home I'm forced to cook my own food especially during lunch. I actually love it because it is much healthier and very economical than eating out all the time. The only thing I hate is washing the dishes but I have my seamstress do that for me, wehehehe!

Today I cooked crispy fried breaded mushroom. It's so delicious dipped in sweet chili sauce. I paired it with rice topped with nori bits and fish flakes. You can buy those toppings in groceries with Japanese stuff.

Yesterday I had for lunch pasta with creamy sour cream and chive. The recipe actually asked for low fat milk but I used full cream milk, which made the sauce really creamy.

The other day I made pasta for a lunch party I was invited. I cooked spaghetti with saba flakes. Just a very simple, hearty pasta dish. I saved some for myself and had it with some multi-grain bread paired with cherry tomato jam from La Boulangerie. I'm addicted to the cherry tomato jam! The jam on hot baguette with butter is simply sublime.

Later I'm planning to make a tuna macaroni salad using Japanese mayonnaise because I like its creamier consistency and strong sharp flavor. It's my first time to do it so let's see how it will taste.

Ali Baba

Been thrifting lately but more on finding pieces for my house. One of my staff tipped me off that he saw this 'antiques' place near Psar Lu, on the way to Cheungju. So one free day I checked it out and actually had a bit of hard time locating it. It's called Ali Baba and they sell mostly Khmer 'antiques'.

If I had a bigger space I would love to have a group of these jars. There's also a mirror I love there but it's priced at US$150, which I think is steep because I saw a similar one in another antiques store and they were selling it at US$70. That time I didn't need a large mirror so I passed. The last time I checked it was sold already, sayang.

I ended up buying some bowls at US$1.50 each. I plan to go back and buy some more, probably some serving dish and cups, too. I rarely drink coffee nor tea at home nowadays so I totally forgot buying some cups when I was in Bangkok. I'd probably need some if I plan to have some of my friends sleep over. I got lucky to find some really nice wine glasses in the thrift shop, too. It's made in Scandinavia. I also got some clear plastic storage containers from Japan in the same thrift stop.

Yet Another Bangkok Visit

With Julius...

and Kawadjan at Dean & Deluca.

I was back in Bangkok recently to meet my family for our vacation there and here in Cambodia. Our 3 days in Bangkok were spent shopping, touring (although I happily skipped this part and went book hunting instead) and eating. I had 2 days for myself before my family arrived and I was lucky to have spent time with Julius and Kawadjan, my bff's there. They invited me to a house party in their friend's house, which was fun because I got to meet a lot of their other friends. We also had time to try Dean&Deluca. Masarap naman. Reminds me of the Dean&Deluca tote bag I have here. I don't know if Kawadjan wants it because I think he wanted to buy one when we were there. Julius and I bonded together over plates, glasses and Muji because he accompanied me in shopping for housewares. Housewares! How weird is that that I'm shopping for cutleries, wine crystals and all those stuff? Nowadays I'm obsessing over food containers, the right flat iron and the importance of buying the proper 8" knife. Teflon frying pan I'm hunting for you! Thank goodness Julius was with me because I was just overwhelmed but at the same time so giddy with excitement. There's just so many cool stuff in Bangkok but also I have to consider my budget. I'm quite happy with my purchases. My family had fun going around. We gorged on Thai food, fresh fruit and, especially me, McDonalds Filet O' Fish burger. They also had time checking out the electronics in MBK and, of course, I gladly left them and instead went toiling around the Bangkok Arts & Culture Centre. Oh, and checked out Comme des Garcons and friends, too. Our last night we had dinner at Somtam and it's so funny because we ordered 3 different versions of tilapia dish: with mangoes, fried with garlic and a herb-y version. Thing is tilapia is so common and abundant in Roxas where my family lives. Random thoughts: We had a hard time looking for iBerry. My brother loves Swensen's Celebrity Brownie ice cream. My nephew Gino loves going around everywhere as long as he is full of milk and there's aircon. I love the magazines Kawadjan and Julius gave me especially Cheeze Looker.

Franco, let's plan on going back to Bangkok again!