Ny Minute Now

I realized the other day that my 12" iBook finally turned seven! If you remember I posted an entry here saying that when this happens, I'll throw a party. Well, I'm miles away from friends or anybody who will attend said shindig, but I'm thinking I'll simply keep this in mind during today's Fourth of July festivities at the park. I'm quite excited about the fireworks. In 2007 we saw some amazing ones out of town. Last year I got so busy in New York that the holiday barely registered a blip in my radar; or I probably just didn't have anywhere to go.

I've since February switched to my blue Acer Aspire One netbook. But that doesn't mean the iBook is a sitting paperweight, oh no. Whenever I look at it, I still think it's one of the most beautiful things ever made by Apple. It does need a new battery which is a hefty $120 for something that in the techworld is supposedly "vintage." In the seven years I've had my white iBook, it has only crashed twice or thrice. Only once I actually had to take it to a service center (see my post, No Ordinary Morning) and even then, it only needed to be reformatted, and I was still able to save my files and programs in the process. Cool, huh?

The main reason why I never upgraded to a newer Mac, apart from the obvious sturdiness and reliability of the one I have, is that I never really liked the models that came out after mine (with the exception of the silver G4 iBooks and Powerbooks). The big drawback for me are the new chiclet keyboards—they're not 'crunchy' enough, for lack of a better term. And I keep thinking, how do you clean those things? Everyone I know covers them with a thin silicone pad that makes typing... well, less tactile of an experience. And in my line of work, those little things matter.

Anyway, I did briefly consider the Macbook Air, but surprisingly, the Acer Aspire One has quite a lot of impressive features that I don't see in the former. I am curious though about what's coming out next year at Apple. Just like how I've felt in the last seven years.

Labels: gadgets, stuff I buy

I started my 30-day Blog Challenge with the premise of creating a habit of blogging more consistently, and being more vigilant with tending to my online life.

As I was pondering the challenge, I also came across a similar program called "31 Days to Build a Better Blog" by Problogger, which is in e-Book form (although I also stumbled upon a website that listed each item on the book). I thought twice about buying because I wasn't ready to part with $19.95 just yet. And I figured, I just want to try writing freely for 30 days, and proceed with the more technical/structured 31 Days afterwards. Anyway, I did buy a different book from Problogger but it hasn't arrived in the mail yet. (I like paper :) )

So now, I'm on day 18, and some days it's just hard to get writing. I do have many ideas banked but I get lazy days when I just don't feel like expounding on them. At the same time though, I have an O.C. streak that makes me want to finish with flying colors.

Anyway, hope you're all having a great holiday weekend!

Labels: books, life musings, stuff I buy

I just saw the trailer of the movie, Coco Before Chanel, starring Audrey Tatou, who starred in one of my all-time favorite films, Amélie. Click on the photo or here to view the trailer at Elle.com.

The quote, "A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous," originated from Coco Chanel herself and it's a good thing to keep in mind. While researching this quote, I also came across, "There is no time for cut-and-dried monotony. There is time for work. And time for love. That leaves no other time," which I like.

The movie comes out in New York and Los Angeles in September. I'll make sure to be in either city by then!

Image courtesy of CocoBeforeChanelMovie.com

Labels: celebrities, fashion, movies, New York minutes, something French

Up until recently I had no idea that brides-to-be were to have and to hold the following on their wedding day:

Something old, something new Something borrowed, something blue And a silver sixpence in her shoe.

(See somethingoldsomethingnew.co.uk)

Thanks to my good friend, Frances of Topaz Horizon, I'm now privy to this info. By the way, she, her husband, Vince, and her classical musician brother, Theodore, are gifting us with the quartet services on the wedding! So thankful!

The other day, my mom and I got talking about her old jewelry; the pieces I saw her wear growing up. There aren't very many, a lot of them are dainty pieces made out of 24-karat gold. Some were gifts from Lola Pacing, my late grandmother on my father's side. I remember her giving me a soft, pliable gold ring that I wore at maybe seven years old. When my mother left for the States, I had with me a few pieces that I think are now with my Auntie Tata (my dad's youngest sister). Maybe you can tell, I'm not very good at keeping jewelry. Most of what I own now are costume and chunky beads of all shapes and sizes. At the moment, my only mega-precious piece is my engagement ring.

Anyway, in the photo is Mom's old Gucci watch. It comes with different colored bands and a jewel-rimmed one. She claims she'd tried to give me the watch a while back but I don't remember. So we agreed she'd give it to me after the wedding, so it can be my 'Something Borrowed.' And my 'Something Old' will be this delicate gold necklace that apparently I'd owned as a child but completely forgot about. It has two tiny heart pendants that are so apt for the occasion.

The thing about Gucci, is I don't own anything from the brand. I purposefully have chosen not to. Three years ago on a trip to Rome—where I was generally blown away by the architecture and history, among many other things (including having my eyes opened for the first time to the massive luxury retail options) I decided I would only by a Gucci bag once I turn 30, and I'll have to pay for it in cash, no credit card, in celebration of my financial independence. It was going to be particularly momentous; I wanted the whole shebang of flying to Rome again, going to the Gucci store, and watching them wrap the package, tissue paper, and all.

However, I doubt if I will see any part of Europe this year. With the wedding plans, I cannot afford an expensive side trip, all the more the shopping involved. It's okay because Italy is still a viable option for a honeymoon. And for now, I'll have the watch to fulfill the 'Gucci plan' for this year. The bag will just have to wait.

Labels: family, fashion, life musings, stuff I buy, travel

Thank you to everyone who voted for the new template. My personal fave was Blue Glide, but Reflection had tabs and a distinct header, so perhaps that's why it won by one point. I found both templates at Ipietoon.com, whose owner/designer has just been very helpful. I am in talks with him to combine the two so I actually get the best of both templates! So I'll be busy 'renovating' over here and brushing up on my HTML. If you find any bugs or missing links, please be patient with me, and also feel free to leave feedback in the comment boxes. Also, do tell me about your blogs so I can link you up in the sidebar. I just loove makeovers!

On another note, the Waring Pro Juice Extractor is the latest addition to the kitchen. Just this afternoon I drank: fresh carrot-apple juice, orange juice, and apple-watermelon juice. So good! I also got a late start with work because I spent half the day in the kitchen making Baked Butter Chicken Fillets (a recipe from Gourmeted.com), which I blogged about here, and a big batch of lentil soup. I took long processing the mirepoix of carrots, celery, and onion—I do this by chopping up more than what I need and putting the rest in zip-top bags to be stashed in the freezer for future use. It also helps that I do all the chopping (when it's this big a batch) in the food processor. I noticed though that after processing the carrots, it tinted the clear bowl orange.

Labels: food, gadgets, something French

That's Mandy Moore on the cover of the July/August 2009 issue of Women's Health Magazine. She looks great, doesn't she? As it turns out, she has a new album called Amanda Leigh (her birth name) and surprise, surprise, she's now married to singer-songwriter Ryan Adams.

I met Mandy Moore a couple of years back and she was the sweetest thing. My fiancé has always had a crush on her, going as far as asking my then-editor to let him tag along during the interview. I am trying to unearth a photo which I thought was in my dormant Friendster account, but apparently, was in the Myspace account I'd deleted a long time ago.

Sorry if this blog post sounds anorexic yet again. I just spent the whole day doing my New York day job—that I get to do outside the city thank you very much—so I'm pretty spent. Plus, up until a minute ago, I had yet to figure out what to write about for Friday's beauty column. Good thing I got an email from the brand manager of Ralph Lauren/Polo and Diesel detailing upcoming men's fragrance launches. So, watch out, I'll be broadcasting the latest scent treats you can get for the hommes in your life!

Back to Mandy, yes she was sweet, charming, gracious, and gorgeous! It was the 'Mandy Machine' of agents, managers, and the like, that annoyed in general. That said, I only have pleasant things to say about the former teen pop star, and I wish her well in her career and marriage. And I'll be browsing iTunes for her new songs, simply because they reek 'indie' and I'm curious: Mandy holed up in a cabin to produce her latest album. This means, she was free to write and record with no big studio labels filtering and forcing mass-produced, monotonous beats on her. (I do like some manufactured pop, too, don't get me wrong.)

Anyway, Women's Health is an engaging read brimming with useful and entertaining articles. Although personally, I seem to enjoy reading Men's Health more, maybe because with the latter being a magazine made for men, I am not compelled to check the gutter for photo credits, or pay too much attention to styling, copy, etc.—an 'autopilot' function that lights up whenever I pick up any women's magazine.

Women's Health is currently being headed and edited (headited—a term I've coined) by Michele Promaulayko, Kate White's former second-in-command at Cosmo. I think anybody who has been second-in-command of anything makes a great head of something, as witnessed by my managing and associate editor friends who now helm their own titles.

Labels: beauty, Beauty in the Big Apple, celebrities, fab friends, fashion, fragrance department, Inquirer column, magazines, music, New York minutes, work

It's safe to say that magazines are my first love. Growing up, my dad owned a small bookstore (and by the end of the eighties, opened a few more) in our hometown. It was common back then to allocate a shelf or two for adult magazines—the Playboys and Penthouses of the decade. And whenever it was time for my parents to wrap each risqué read into their individual glossy plastic packaging, I was relegated to one corner of the store where I quietly read my Archies, Reader's Digests, and you guessed it: magazines. (No—no Playboy for me.)

So in retrospect, I'm not surprised that I ended up working in the magazine industry for quite a number of years. I still do, somehow. But these days, it's a more languid, less intense version of my life as a full-time editor. As a freelancer, I can practically spend the day working in bed. I do miss the stilettos, though.

This drawing is a sample of how I would brainstorm with my art director in the past and it's a page peg of a project I recently worked on. A page usually starts with an idea, scribbled on a piece of paper, and from there, blossoms into a full-fledged editorial—styled products, lead-in photos, captions and all. As you can see, I'm not the very best drawer around, but so far, my doodling ways have produced about seven years worth of magazine clips.

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked if I still wanted to pursue a magazine career in New York. The answer is yes and no. Yes, because I would never turn down the prospect of working for one of my favorite things in the world. There is nothing like opening a new, freshly-printed issue; the feel of glossy paper sticking to your fingers. But then, no, because I also feel like the platform has changed. That's why more and more, I'm actively pursuing and nurturing all my online endeavors. Yet again, when the magazine bug bites, one must scratch.

Labels: beauty, fashion, freelancing, life musings, magazines, New York minutes, work

I bought this last night at Target for a steal. I first came across this Swiss Gear 17" rolling carry-on bag in Las Vegas last October; it was just soo cute and compact. At the time, I didn't really need it. My fiancé and I just ended up getting him the bigger version in black. I have my own trusty red rolling suitcase that's been with me EVERYWHERE. I won't go into detail but that bag, along with a giant wheeled duffel, were the perfect travel companions.

Last week, I saw the luggage again and noticed it was on sale. Again, I hesitated, despite my mother's urging to get it. Anyway, I saw her packing last night for an upcoming family trip to Wasington D.C. and thought about the Swiss Gear carry-on again. She said, "Let's go to Target now and buy it." It was 9 p.m.

Within 30 minutes I was the proud owner of this supercute pewter bag. The picture doesn't do it justice. Oh, I'm not retiring my precious red maleta, I'll just be converting it into my mobile beauty trolley for future makeup gigs.

Image courtesy of Target.com.

Labels: beauty, family, stuff I buy, travel

I think I attract free dessert. Seriously.

A while back, I was standing in front of a bread and pastry shop in Grand Central, looking at Halloween-inspired cupcakes and cake slices. A gentleman in a suit walked by and said, "Do you want one of those? I'll buy you one." Of course I said thank you and politely declined.

I think it happened again another time but I forget the exact details. But I'm pretty sure it was the same scenario: me standing in front of sweet treats and someone offering to buy me some.

Earlier I was wandering the aisles of Whole Foods looking for a particular batch of home-made chocolate chip cookies, when one of the workers there asked if I needed help finding anything (they're very nice at this Whole Foods you know). I told him what I was looking for and he said they weren't able to make them last night and that they will tonight. He then proceeded to show me other cookies in the bakery section. Nothing called out to me so I thanked him for all his help. As I eyed the Chocolate Pot de Creme (pictured)—a fancy name for their homemade chocolate mousse—he showed me these huge, fat cookies from another shelf and asked if I wanted two of them. If I were five years old I would have walked away.

I did ask him if they were poisoned :)

(No, they're not, they're actually made by Carol's Cookies from Highland Park Illinois.)

Labels: chocolate, dessert, food, life musings, New York minutes, stuff I buy

I woke up today realizing I haven't made pasta in months. A notable observation as friends old and new would attest to the fact that I make this almost every week if not at least once a month. My favorite thing to make is what I like to call "Comfort Spaghetti," which I blogged about here.

So after a light brunch of a banana and the juice of two freshly-squeezed oranges, I decided to re-tread the Italian waters lightly by whipping up a simple angel hair Aglio Olio Pepperoncino—a recipe I learned from the back of the package of parsley and red pepper flakes I bought on a trip to Milan (wherein I also hoarded packs of Perugina Bacci!). It starts with olive oil heated in a pan, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, parsley, and your pasta of choice. It finishes with a little of the pasta water, salt, pepper, and as much cheese as you like. Well, the cheese part is my personal touch, I used parmesan and cheddar. I think the original recipe calls for just the former. I have a sky's-the-limit take on cheese as you can see.

Another dish I never tire of eating but rarely get to make much of is Puttanesca (pictured), which literally means, "Whore's Pasta." Mark Bittman of the New York Times blog, Bitten, writes, "It is said that pasta puttanesca was designed to lure customers with its aroma. Other explanations have more appeal to the minimalist cook: that the prostitutes were too busy to cook much, or that they had no storage for fresh ingredients and cooked entirely from the pantry."

Puttanesca is a tasty toss of olive oil, garlic, capers, anchovies, tomatoes, and olives. You can find an authentic Italian recipe at http://culinariaitalia.wordpress.com. And that's what's next on my (cooking) to-do list. Buon appetito!

Image courtesy of http://www.bbcgoodfood.com.

Labels: fab friends, food, New York minutes, travel