TOPAZ HORIZON

Confession: We haven't really vacuumed the house in a long, long while. We've been relying on walis and dusters, which aren't the most efficient cleaning tools. Plus, they just stir up the dust, so horrible to Vince and me since we have allergies. So why aren't we using the vacuum? Because the noise freaks out the kids, especially Iñigo.

Zalora ships fast! I ordered Sunday midnight (so technically Monday morning) and I got my iPad and phone cases Tuesday lunch! Wowza!

Packaged in Zalora-print tissue paper.

The Paperthings plastic boxes are cool, too, although I think hardly necessary. But that's just me.

My pretty pink goodies! They are made of recycled leather, which is "ground down leather scraps that are a by-product of leather manufacturing." I'm quoting from the information card, which is also made of recycled leather. It's kinda like them saying, "No tree was hurt in the making and packaging of this product." Which is of course not true but kinda cool anyway.

Recycled leather does not smell like real leather. But it still smells great! It's kinda stiff, though. I need to push in my gadget and pull it out with force. I'm hoping that with regular use, the leather will soften up a bit, allowing for more ease in use.

The quality is blameless, I must say. Really well made! And that beautiful pink color? Perfect. I'm a-wanting the other colors now but I'm simplifying life this year. So I won't buy. It will be Paperthinks's leather envelopes and leather-bound notebooks that I'll buy next!

Shop at Zalora now!

I keep forgetting to take photos of my clothes! After all this time, I still feel so awkward posing in front of the camera. I keep hearing Tyra Banks's voice in my head: "Are you showcasing the dress best? Is your neck elongated? Is your face fierce?" Top Model has ruined me forever.

Yesterday, Vince and I went to the city hall to pay our annual real estate tax. Mandaluyong has a very efficient city hall so, even though we brought reading materials, we didn't get to do any reading because our papers were processed rather quick.

Plus, there was this to distract all the dutiful citizens: an exhibit of Sto. Niños. It was so fascinating. And that's saying a lot considering I'm not a Catholic. I think it's worth seeing. The exhibit starts with this baby Jesus on a horse. This is owned by the mayor.

Lots of different kinds of Sto. Niños, old and new, big and small.

A collection of sleeping baby Jesus.

The only two Sto. Niños that showed His purpose on earth.

Jesus was a carpenter but this Sto. Niño showed he could make shoes as well.

He's also a cute soldier.

Sto. Niños in various garb: soft robes, barong, tin and none at all.

We wish we had brought our cameras! Instead, I had to use my Blackberry to shoot these. Fascinating exhibit, even for us who aren't Catholics. If you have the time, go and see it at the Mandaluyong City Hall. I don't know when it will end, though, so drop by soonest.

My first cover story of the year is on Circuit magazine. It's a stunning cover of Iza Calzado. My story on her was pretty easy to do—I just asked what she's planning this year (amass a fortune!) and what she's always wanted to do but haven't (tons, one of which is to be a journalist like me!).

Anyway, here are a few behind-the-scenes shots from the shoot and interview last December:
That's Iza in beauty-prep mode. Beside her is my baby's yaya. We're at Raymund Isaac's photo studio near Kamagong, Makati.

Sooo many shoes and clothes! Of course, the finished product, you only see one outfit (the other photo inside is just her face) and no shoes at all. So to those of you who think stars and stylists have so much fun at shoots, think again. Stylist scours malls and designers to borrow stuff. Star tries on many outfits and poses in them so editors have a lot of options and then editors choose two or three looks only!

Also having a photo shoot was Giselle Toengi. She is tiny! I'm only 5'3" and I'm in flats here. I think Giselle was wearing heels here, but not very high heels. She's like this doll! She loved Iñigo bear!

So did her daughter! That's Sakura. She and Iñigo adored each other!

I talk a bit about this article on my professional website. Grabe your copy of Circuit! Mwah!