Photo for the royal wedding programme was taken by Mario Testino. Isn't it just gorgeous. Yes, he is one of my inspiration since seeing his photos on fashion magazines way back 1980's. Then came the famous black and white photographs of the late Lady Diana which kinda sealed the deal for me. And now, he gives us this. Simple, elegant. Black and white.

For the official wedding photographs, Hugo Burnand held the reigns. Just like any photographer for highly sensitive affairs, news have it that there were several instructions he had to adhere to. Such as no photos with so and so with so and so. You know, the works. hehehehe. I always love it when I'm briefed before a photo assignment. Kinda gives me the 'gossipy' side of things. hahaha

Love the official wedding photographs:

I always love 'no-cheaky' no-nonsense poses. hehehe. Ok, being from this country, I would be getting some flack for wanting to get away from 'tradition' and the not-so traditional wacky poses for weddings. Hey I respect my elders too, but look at how they are appropriately placed BESIDE the newlyweds. Still respectful you know. Oh, Burnand had better made sure of that, afterall that's the Queen and Prince Philip of England now. hehehe. It is the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding. I am pretty sure, the Queen took no offense. hehehe

Proper preparations, designation and briefing of the team and wedding party made this possible in about an hour. I hope we all learn from this. hahahaha.

Ooohhh it would just go better from here on... the children were promised jellybeans. My equivalent to fastfood bribery. hahaha!

Lovely, lovely.

Picture perfect. Although my nanny/assistant would have probably heard me whisper "A little relaxation on the arms now, Duchess."

"And you can slump your back just a tad bit."

Hehehehehe

But seriously, I love the photos. Love them. Love M. Testino. Love H. Bernand. Love the Hasselblad H4D-50.

The official royal wedding photographer is Hugo Burnand who used a Hasselblad H4D50, ehem, a 50-million-pixel medium format DSLR (oh why do you kill me so?). He did the photographs during Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall's wedding in 2005. A society photographer who also got the assignment during Prince Charles' 60th birthday in 2008.

But WHO is the lady photographer in green who came out with Kate Middleton at 10:51 London time from The Goring Hotel?!

I giggled when I saw her wiggle her way between the plant and car to run around the front of the car. Why, that's ME! Hahahahaha photographers in pursuit of the money shot of very important personalities (ok, that's an understatement, I know) often find themselves in the most awkward positions, whether dressed in shirt and jeans or haltered green top, black balloon dress, fashionable black hat and green high heels.

Having been able to be trusted as 'close in' photographer by Presidents, celebrities and Governors, I had goosebumps thinking of where she was.

And then she opens the front door and SITS DOWN to take more photos. Friend? Photographer's associate? For the lad Scotland Yard detective to have given her the time and room the lady photographer in green must be all of the above.

The best seat in the house I should say!

Now that's really killing me. ahihihi.

Everyone has got his or her royal wedding story.

But hers...oh my...HERS is a completely different one indeed!

I want to see her photos! hehehe

Whoever you are, I envy you.

I most certainly salute you to have been trusted to do what you did.

What was the big give-away for the dress? I mean, aside from the sudden release of the statement who the wedding dress designer that is.

First, some with that thing on her head arrived at the Goring hotel. To have warranted such a...a...hmmm...a cover up, she could only be: the wedding dress designer! With her signature big buckled belt and ballet flats, speculations of Sarah Burton began to emerge.

I completely forgot about the all the hoopla/secrecy when I saw the bride emerge from the car. Such a sight to behold, such elegance. Simplicity at its most beautiful.

It suddenly occured to me that designers ALMOST ALWAYS stand by the church door to help fix the train of the bridal gown. And VIOLA:

(watch out for the 2:17 mark)

SARAH BURTON of Alexander McQueen!

Having followed closely who would hold the reigns at AM since May 2010 I recognized the woman behind the door.

Her stance and built was unmistakable.

It was indeed her. The world actually did both vocally and silently wished it would be McQueen. Starting out as an intern with Alexander McQueen in 1996 (later becoming his right hand), she had been rumored to be a favored candidate to replace creative director John Galiano at Dior. Interviewed back in March 2011, she denied being the royal designer (Clarence House offered no comment). She was obviously honoring the Duchess of Cambridge's wishes and the fine prints on the contract she signed. hehehe. It will indeed be an even busier year for Sarah Burton. Afterall she did make a princess of the princess.

So...what did YOU wear?

Ahihihihi...

Before you got to my blog, I am pretty sure you most probably have read 30 other fashion blogs talking about the dresses and HATS personalities wore to yesterday's royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. I know I have. Hahahaha!

So some got it, some just didn't. But hey, they got invited. And unfortunately for whose hats just didnt cut it, are now the center of every fashion blogger's "attention".

So I'm not even gonna start.

But please do spare me the fashion police treatment as I show you what I would have worn if I have gotten an invite. hehehe...

I gather it was a bit chilly. That is why the Rajo Laurel Plains & Prints Thripps long-sleeve dress in olive would have been perfect. Top it with a Philip Treacy hat, which actually would have been the first thing I shopped for considering the waitlist. Seemed almost everyone favored Philip Treacy for the occasion. I'd also get an old pair of black Christian Dior platforms.

I love the simple and elegant ceremony.

Love how there was no high pitched opera singer "giving her all".

Love how the bride did her own make up. I mean hey, if you got the talent, why not?

It's your wedding, you can have any wedding dress style you want.

That is why I love you!

Hurray for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for pulling off a very beautiful ceremony! And yes, this was a wonderful surprise:

Well hello there...

As you may have noticed I had been just a tad lazy these days, hehehe. I barely check my Facebook messages. With the exception of posting the photos of the family reunion last week. About 4pm yesterday I got a message from a cousin in Texas that his son has arrived in the Philippines. I was so excited as I have not seen Joseph for more than 6 years! His mom is afterall the only first cousin I have with my mother's side.

So we meet up. Introduced my girls to their big cousin from Texas. They meet for the first time.

He hands me this:

And what does she brings for me?

Nook Color android tablet by Barnes and Nobles. Super cool ha!

I got the version 1.1.0. Would be easy to upgrade as BN had been aggressive lately with their developments in the tablet market. There would be a Nook store soon. Works like any tablet. Although one should not expect it to work like the popular browser tabs. This is primarily an e-Reader. But this version enables you to browse the web to some limited extent. I discovered I could Facebook and Tweet on it, however at a limited rate. But Im totally happy. It's not everyday cousin surprises you with something as cool as this!

With it's 7-inch 1024 x 600 LCD display, works absolutely fine with me! It weights 15.8 ounces, it's heavier compared to another tablet of the same size. But weight has never actually been a problem with me.

Ooopps! Makes me wonder...hmm, did I ask for this? There's a receipt. Maybe I'd have to pay. Wait. No, I didnt...and I don't have to. hahahahahah! Cousin forgot to get the receipt out.

The micro SD memory card slot.

This is the protective case. Just like a book. With names of authors. LOVE IT!!!

I love white!

Getting it dirtied easily is not an issue with me.

So how cool is that?

It cost half the iPad. And it's an e-Reader. You download and read books on it. Swipe the screen to flip the page or just tap.

Word on the grapevine is that web browsing and email capabilities will be greatly improved with the newer versions. Will just have to update.

Thank you Kathy!

Totally unexpected.

Totally loved.

Thank YOU Boss!

I seriously stacked.

The Shalom Farms honey products!

Definitely a must have at every household. Forget insomnia, one teaspoon of honey makes this big baby to dream land in a heartbeat!

I usually take my honey before breakfast for stamina. Endless commuting and shooting, I surely need the boost. Don't even get me started with the throat spray. My hubby swears by it. (I put on my kid's cuts and insect bites, hehehe. Just don't forget to wash it off later...)

Hubby's honey soap was laying around. I have not used the soap so I gave it a go. Well, it's a keeper!!! No matter how the label says "moisturizes" on them commercial facial washes, not to mention, expensive, the more sensitive skin around my mouth and eyebrows always get ugly flaky dry after a few minutes. But lo and behold! No dryness in sight after the HONEY SOAP!!! At P70 a piece, who can resist. Hmmm...online shopping, here I come!

Yep, she swears by them too.

Everyone an avid fan.

You can find them at Sulit.com

Raw honey from Shalom Farms

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

We are back.

Good thing my playlist made it thru the 8-hour road trip from Bacolod City yesterday.

A blessed reunion of hubby's family.

We have unpacked. It's always the first order of the day after a trip, especially this one. Now begins the fun part: sorting the 1,200 plus photos I took during the 4-day reunion!!!

Guess this means, marathon editing. ahihihi

Hope you all had a safe and blessed holy week, family and friends.

I missed you so.

Packing. I meant packed. Yesterday was the big packing day for us. It's off to a family reunion. Yep, those boxes at the back, we shall be taking them along for the weeklong stay at the farm. Finally using my Cath Kidston. I love it! An overnighter, carry-all, weekender, call it what you will but I call it my life-saver. ahihihi. As with most of my bag choices, the deciding factor is almost always the sling strap. Like I said, it's my life-saver when totting two little kids along, anytime, anywhere.

To show you how big, there's my BlackBerry phone on the outside pocket.

my stuff...ipod case (which actually is a GPS case, works better coz of the hard shell), coin purse, wallet, vanity case, make up case, eyeglass vault. Everything fit perfectly.

Have a safe trip everyone!

May your Holy Week be holy and meaningful.

I would like to share with you another of my father's collection now in my possession. He loved his Parker pens. He would give us Parker for all occasions and most of the time had our names engraved on it.

This I'm guessing is one of his oldest.

He loved the slim ones. My favorites are the Classic Sterling (left) and Classic Imperial from 1978 (right).

I am using this. The Classic Flighter GT, a Classic Lady.

And the sterling silver Parker 75. It is distinctive with its cut grid pattern. A very special pen for me as my mother has a matching pen. The Parker 75 commemorated the 75th year anniversary of the company.

Beautiful.

The train collection. Since I was 7 years old. An uncle from America had been sending us sets and sets of trains, tracks, accessories and such. We did assemble some of them but not all. It was just too overwhelming.

When I got married, my hubby had been the official custodian of the collection. He had since boxed everything up and sent for storage to our hometown. We figured we could set them all up properly when we retire. Hehehe...

But the month's turn of events pushed us for a big clean up in my parents' house. We took out all the boxed trains. The kids have been hearing us talk about them, our plans etc. But it was the first time they ever actually saw them trains...

Some have remained unopened.

It was decided they be shipped back here with us ...for storage, again. Until retirement...hahahaha!

Aren't they the coolest?

Another one from the MAC Wonder Woman treasure chest.

The Secret Identity Lipglass.

Orangey, rusty.

Simply all make up counter ladies has tagged me 'the one who doesn't like orange'. In anything.

Except for this one. hehehehe

It is more dark rusty on my lips and I like it! It has become my alternate for nudes.

After 5 hours of wear, this is how it looked: