TOPAZ HORIZON

I forgot to tell you about this!

My life is surreal. First, Rissa Mananquil Trillo then Lucy Torres Gomez. Now Cecile Zamora Van Straten. I have only met Cecile thrice in my life and all those times involved food. The first time was the opening of Pepper Lunch at Power Plant and she personally attended to our table, showing us how to cook our food. The second time was at Cibo Greenbelt 5, when she sent over dessert for my friend Kate who was eating dinner with me. The third time was at Via Mare, when we all had merienda with author Samantha Sotto and then Cecile offered to take me and my son Vito home. There's always food with Cecile! That's why when I think of Cecile Van Straten, I think of food.

Yes, I am deriving pleasure from typing their full names. It's my way of convincing myself that important people read my blogs because I still can't believe it!

Thank you so much to everyone who take the time to visit Topaz Horizon and Topaz Mommy. All of you inspire me! God bless you all for the encouragement and support. Mwah!

UPDATE: Four times pala! The last time I met Cecile was at the launch of Magnum ice cream bar and we were surrounded by trays and trays of Belgian ice cream and coolers upon coolers of Magnum. So food pa rin!

The magazine was already about to run in the printers when I saw Kristen Stewart in that lace gown. It was a dress that made everyone either love it or hate it. I, for one, loved it. Absolutely loved it! Loved that it was so polarizing and arresting that it deserved a cover. So I called the printers and was able to make my dream come true for the second time when I trilled, "Stop the presses!!!" and replaced the cover with KStew.

Oh, to be in your 20s, with milky white skin, with long lithe limbs, and an A-list status! You could frakkin' wear the most ridiculous outfits because on anyone else, people would laugh at how stupid you look but when you're young and perfect, you can get away with anything and everything. Yes, from nearly nude gowns to having "momentary indiscretions" with a married man with young kids!!!

So tell me—is Kristen Stewart's gown the best gown you've seen this year or the worst? Personally, I actually liked it. Her sartorial picks this year made the entertainment editor in me giddy with pleasure. She was always wearing buzzed-about outfits. As for her personal picks, and by that I mean her life choices, they ain't so hot. So for me, KStew is this year's best dressed but worst decision-maker. The kinda star an entertainment magazine adores!

The December issue of OK! Philippines is filled with all things terrific and terrible. TV, movies, music, red carpet gowns, trends in fashion and beauty... You name it, it's in the December ish!

Sorry I had to make them smaller! In the previous extra-large format, you can actually read the Best of Beauty list! Oops. Grab a copy na lang haha

We have Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, for our royalty fans. We have our much-anticipated Best of Beauty List, our tried-and-tested and most recommended products for the year. We have the coolest gift-guide fitting for the stars in your life. Very very proud of this issue!

Which also happens to be our last.

Yes, folks. After almost 8 years, OK! Philippines is turning its very last page. We couldn't keep up with the lightning speed of the internet and the celebrity blogs like Perez Hilton and Just Jared. While I love all the instant news, my heart is breaking because I love magazines and I'm sadly a witness to its death.

Last week, Vince and I attended the biggest and most fabulous blogging summit in the country—Blogopolis! Presented by Nuffnang, the conference dealt with topics such as how blogging truly is the new media, how to keep coming up with great content, how to turn your blog into a brand, how to engage your audience, how social media helps market your blog, what advertisers look for in blogs and bloggers, how to turn your blog into a real money-making machine, and the trouble with that troublesome Anti-Cybercrime Law. Then there's a party at the end of it. So comprehensive! And all that packed in one day!


I wanted to be there the whole day but I'm a mommy so I can only be a few hours away from home. I figured that the most applicable to me right now is how to attract advertisers, what kinds of services can I offer clients, and how I can turn my blog into a brand. So I just attended the afternoon session.

This dapper guy is Liam Capati. He's the media director of Starcom. That means he gets to say where the ads go. That means we shoulda gone up to him and said hi! See all those logos behind him? I want all those brands on my blogs and Twitter campaigns. Liam, if you're reading this, please make my wish come true! So far, I've worked with Meralco, Sun Cellular, Coca-Cola and McDonald's. That means I'm on their radar!

Actually, I got a big surprise when Liam mentioned that my parenting blog, Topaz Mommy, is a good example of a well written, well done, well branded blog. I knew Topaz Mommy has great writing (of course!) but I didn't know it's already seen as a brand. I must be more aware of what I'm doing!

That's Carlos Palma, executive director of Havas, with Liam. They're talking about numbers. Basically, what they're saying here is your blog doesn't have to be as huge as Yugatech or Chuvaness. Of course, a large readership is great but it's more important for advertisers to be associated with good blogs. So what matters to advertisers?

• The blogger's personality. Is she engaging? Does she make readers feel like they're her friends? Is her personality strong enough that she stands out in a sea of bloggers? 
• The blogger's influence. When she recommends something, do people try it? Are her blog posts shared, her Tweets reTweeted?
• The blogger's authority within her niche blog market. Does she know what she's talking about? Is she an expert in her field?
• The blog's good reputation. Your blog may be popular but if it's too negative or controversial, brands won't want to work with you. 

Now numbers. When is a blog big enough to make advertisers sit up and notice? Well, here's the thing: Because of the long tail statistical distribution, it doesn't really matter. Let's say Brand X has P10 million to spend on a campaign. Media buyers are in charge of distributing this budget over various media. So TV gets a chunk, so does a few print publications, and some big bloggers. Let's say P6M went to that. The rest of the money, which is still a hefty P4M will now go to a group of smaller bloggers and social media influencers.

That's where we come in. The more, the merrier because Brand X wants to be talked about. Sure, the money isn't as big as the one that goes to traditional media but considering that blogging is just a fun hobby for most of us and not a job, any income that comes in is amazing!

Now the good news is with blogging and Facebook, bloggers are getting a bigger and bigger chunk of that pie while traditional media's slice is getting smaller and smaller. So if you're asking me, "Should I blog?", I only have one answer: "Hell, yeah!"

Now, I did say that blogging is usually just a hobby for most bloggers but when your hobby becomes huge and starts taking up most of your time, Abe Olandres, Nuffnang's Country Manager, says it's time to make it a brand and a business.
Abe says there are many ways to make money from your blog. Display ads, sponsored posts, paid links, affiliate sales, co-branding and partnerships. I've done all of the above, except co-branding and affiliate sales. It's good money, y'all. But not enough. That's why I'm focusing on making the blogs bigger next year. It's top priority! I want to earn as much as some of my blogger friends! They earn much higher than I do as a magazine editor!

Besides, people already think of me first as a blogger. Then they remember my day job. It's an afterthought. So I might as well make blogging the day job, right? We'll see if this plan pans out!

Speaking of people thinking of me as a blogger, here are a couple of readers I met at Blogopolis:

Roxi of Mr. Jacob's Mom. She's so sweet! She's like my top blog commenter. I should give her an award!

Chrissy of Changing Nappies in High Heels. I always run into Chrissy everywhere!

Next year, if Nuffnang holds another Blogopolis, I'll stay the whole day. Why? Because we won the grand prize this year—an iPad Mini!!! But since mommy-to-babies duties and my breastfeeding boobs dictate my schedule, we couldn't stay and so we lost the prize! It's okay, it's okay. What I've gained from Nuffnang and Blogopolis is worth much more than an iPad Mini. Chos!

Vince calls these photos the anti-fashion blog photos because he says I don't look like I tried to look fashionable. Tee hee. Well, he has a point. These are my usual "wala lang!" outfits. To be fair to me, never naman ako nagsabi na this will be a fashion blog. Mothers, hindi ko kaya so don't expect!

Zara knit top, Zara mini skirt, Zara ballet flats. Kate Spade tote.

I'll also add some of my observations about Topaz Fashion in this post. I think you'll find them more interesting than the shabby outfits haha.

I tried FF because many readers were curious about what I usually wear. It's usually very boring, ladies.  Comfy dressing all the way! Stylish comfy dressing—I want to reiterate that!—but not the kind that'll knock your socks off or get me a fashion endorsement deal, as some young fashion bloggers are currently fighting about.

Wrong angle. Yaya was sitting on floor. You can almost look up my Uniqlo dress! Others: Lacoste ballet flats and Rags 2 Riches bag by Aranaz

So FF was an experiment, nothing serious, nothing I planned to continue. My findings are:
1. It is very hard work.
2. It made me overly concerned about what I'll wear.
3. It made me overly concerned about repeating clothes haha.
4. I'm starting to figure out my best angle! Face camera. Left foot forward. Bend left knee. Stand up straight. Turn away right shoulder. Slightly keep arms away from body. (But in these photos, you can see I'm still trying out different poses.)
5. It works.

Wha?? Topaz Fashion works, bloggers. Want to make your blog popular? Do fashion posts! In October, my page views jumped from 40,000 to 60,000. That's huge.

Ojay raw silk blouse, Frou Frou embroidered shorts, Lacoste flats, Longchamp clutch

I was scratching my head wondering why I suddenly had so many new readers and when I studied the stats, it's the Topaz Fashion posts that always spike the stats meter. Like, there's a big jump. 

So this November, I skipped several FFs just to check if the stats will remain at 60K. Well, it didn't. It went down and now it's hovering at 55K. Still much higher than the 40K but I see now that FF had a significant effect. And so now I have a dilemma!

Muji scarf, Forever 21 tank, Levi's jeans, Anthropolgy flats, Charles & Keith sunglasses

Obviously, I have to continue with FFs, right? It's okay actually. I think it can be good for me to care more for my appearance (although I hope I don't become vain and shallow in the process!). My problem with it now is this:

• I don't have a lot of clothes. Well, I actually do but they're all pre-pregnancy and so I don't fit into them anymore/yet. I fit into maybe 12 outfits. I think you'll get very bored once you've seen me recycle 12 outfits! Plus, I may have lots of shoes but I seem to wear only 3 pairs!
• Some of my friends say that posting photos of stuff you own is nagyayabang and I don't want to appear mayabang. 
• But if I post outfit shots only of my affordable fashion or second-hand finds courtesy of eBay, baka naman you'll think I'm poor! Haha.

Sexy White Shirt tee, Colours shorts, Lacoste flats, Rags 2 Riches bag by Aranaz

Grabe, napakabigat na problema ito! Is Topaz Fashion worth it??? Muni-muni muna me.

I wish!

Start of the week and I'm already drowning in my to-do list. Initially, I thought I'd be absolutely free today (today of all days!). But, nope, I have tons to do. In order of urgency, here's what I need to do today:

1. Buy food! We actually have a fully stocked everything except there's no meat, vegetables and rice in the house! 
2. Go to the bank for some OTC transactions.
3. Sort dirty laundry and send out to laundromat (yes, I'm the one who does this!).
4. Write an article for a parenting magazine.
5. Unpack the bags from our mini getaway in Tagaytay this weekend.
6. Organize the stuff I brought home from the office.
7. Re-sked a dentist appointment.

Then I seriously need to fulfill some blogging promises I made to people and brands who have generously sent me goodies. The list is long and I don't know if I'll ever get this done!

How's your Monday like? No matter what you plan today, remember to smile and thank God that your busy life means it's a blessed one. I know I complain a lot but I'm actually really grateful. For one thing, despite all of the stuff I have to do, at least I don't have to go to the office! How lucky am I?