February Finds

Ah February, the month when everywhere I go there are hearts and flowers I have to put up with. While I did not find love much to the disappointment of overly-enthusiastic friends, here are some consolations I also found:

The dress that launched a thousand looks

So perhaps a thousand looks may be a little exaggerated but perhaps it is possible to the creative mind!

Because I occasionally have a fancy event to attend to, I have to think carefully what to wear, especially when it requires me to wear a formal attire, forget about it and prance around doing my job. :) I have previously rented clothes for such occasions. Honestly, I found it to be quite pricey and time-consuming hopping dress shops and finding a perfect fit. No regrets for looking my best, though. On the other hand, being fashion and budget conscious myself prompts me to look for better alternatives.

So when a friend recently launched their enterprise Tying the Knot featuring this awesome Infinity Dress, I was really excited to try one. I was set on finding pieces I could just recreate or mix up instead of buying dresses to every glamorous occasion but there it was! They make quality & affordable wedding clothing, but even after the occasion, you can wear the dress again by reinventing your look. A good investment, if you ask me. If you're planning to dress up your entourage similarly, I bet bridesmaids would appreciate being able to customize their dress according to their body type, given the many ways the dress can be styled. Apart from this, the dresses are made by mothers trained by NGOs. Now that's a really good buy!

There are plenty of tutorials in Youtube showing you ways on how to wear the dress, but I also found out you make some sort of version yourself. Like the way I wore mine, with the slightly revealing back and flowing cape at the back slightly reminiscent of Emma Stone's dress in the movie Gangster Squad (or just a nod for Oscars 2015 Best Picture Birdman). For just a bit of drama and for the fun of wearing it. =D

The color Marsala won me over.

Down with Love, Up with Chocolate

I got an interesting bar of chocolate on Valentine's day which hilariously reminds me of that chocolate in that 1960s-inspired movie Down with Love starring Rene Zellweger and Ethan McGregor.

"Abstain from Love. Indulge in Chocolate."

Interestingly, the Seattle based JCOCO Couture Chocolates company also gives back to the community by serving fresh and healthy food to someone who would otherwise go hungry.

...which reminds me as well of the locally-produced artisan chocolate Theo & Philo. Getting their cacao beans straight from the farmers in Davao and sugar from Bacolod, this social enterprise champions the people over machines to make the high quality chocolates and proudly makes them from bean to bar right here in the Philippines.

Theo & Philo. Because of my love for chocolate, only the seal was left behind.

Trivia from Theo+Philo: European countries are well-known for their chocolates, but their climate doesn't actually allow it. The cacao plant can only grow in countries like the Philippines which is near the equator. Imagine our luck (not to mention our unleashed potential). As for its name, "Theo” comes from the cacao bean’s scientific name, Theobroma cacao while “Philo” means love, Thus it's “Chocolate & Love.” 

Both chocolates actually have other flavors to choose from but I prefer the 70-72% bitter/dark chocolates. Incidentally healthier for me. =)

Now ain't February sweet? ;D