It's the middle of May and I forgot to mention that I FINALLY GRADUATED COLLEGE. Yes, no more four walls of green-colored uniforms and overbearing teachers. But hello to the real world. Yes, welcome to unemployment life (however, I'm still waiting on this job I have yet to hear from!). But enough about that. After graduation, there's this season called summer and we all know what first comes to mind with this season, BEACH. 

It's pretty much a challenge to find the perfect background to take outfit shots. I have a fair share of looking for the perfect place to take photos where no one is around and you've got the place to you and your photographer. Luckily, I finally found one place that I instantly fell for.

I feel like a cross between a beach bum and a Moroccan princess with this getup. 

Guess where I am?

So to celebrate my mom's birthday, she wanted to spend her time with the family in the

I'm as lazy as a sloth, admittedly guilty of that.

Of salty waters, sea breeze and grilled bellies, there's no better way to start summer than a dip in Cebu's finest ocean waves and sandy beaches. Island hopping was the go-to getaway from the aftermath of what school had to give us.  For some of you who hasn't got a clue what this getaway is about, we get the chance to ride in some small boat (aka bangka/banca), go to islands or just dock in the middle of the ocean and jump our asses into the water.

See that first island picture above? That's Sulpa Island. We first docked there, though we didn't set foot on the island itself since most of the islands have entrance fees ranging from Php100-Php200. We just anchored a few feet away from the island and took a little dip in the shallow, sandy waters.

I would suggest you bring raw marinated meat and fish and let the boat people grill them for you, that way you're feeling the island/Caribbean vibe, I guess. We did that, and let me tell you, grilled foods are the best ways to eat when going to these kinds of things.

 Other islands I would want for you guys to visit here in Mactan, Cebu are:

 Top from WAGW, Sunnies from Sunnies by Charlie

 Photo credits to Licah, Jenqin and Pocholo. 

xoxo,

Shannen

Summer is finally finally here. No more uniform-hugging clothing, paper works and sleepless nights. Bikinis, beach, fitness and sleep are what I need for this Summer 2014. 

Though this outfit post doesn't even get close to the summer kind of outfit vibe, these photos are loooong overdue and I needed an airport ensemble like every other blogger out there. :)

I'm very much immune to the cold atmosphere of the airport which makes me want to get and cuddle in my oversize wool jacket. Thus, for my airport outfit I opted to cover everything in my body up. Haha! By the way, I went to Manila during last year's holidays; in case you guys were wondering where I was headed to. 

I went for a more neutral color palette for my wardrobe cause I thought it was too soon to don a neon green or bright graphic tee at 6 in the morning. Though I still added a little bit of flair to my wardrobe with my zebra printed shirt that my mother just got me, which I love. And I added my favorite bowler hat, and some glasses to maybe nerdify the outfit a little bit, hahaha.

Pants from Mango, Hat from WAGW

 Tartans and plaids were the main print and trend at Fall 2013 and at Topshop- for which I bought this gorgeous pants. Question: Is this appropriate enough for a Sunday mass? Hahaha. Cause I wore this to mass, and maybe you guys would disagree or not, I took the chance. These plaid/tartan pants remind of a pair of pajamas my mother owns and though, these pants are skin-tight, they feel comfortable. I'm leaning toward the grungy-androgynous kind of style in this outfit, that I hope I did. 

What came in the mail, as well, is this silver hologram clutch ~ which are on trend right now, too ~ so I took this clutch for a spin, even if it was for Church. 

 The spaghetti strap of this basic tank was too loose for me not too notice so I knotted it and made it fit~ it turned it pretty...swell, I think. Accessories fell short, only wearing pearl earrings since I haven't bought any new accessories yet. But still looks good though, despite minimalist jewelries. 

School is pretty much over, one week left before summer. I pretty much just want to get a good night's sleep and get the daily dose of an  8-hour sleep. This would also mean summer photos, Manila trips and outfit shots. Yipee!!!

Top from Forever 21, Pants from Topshop, Clutch from Love Eyecandy

I actually got the courage to show a bit of midriff and back. I'm not much of skin-baring style kind of person; but the top was too cute not to buy. So I thought, why not? I took a risk- in a way.

I thought of going ethnic/tribal with this ensemble because the yellow midriff top looked good "ethnic enough" to pair with my "tribal paisley" printed skated skirt. I added my favorite turquoise necklace- which always reminds me of Pocahontas and her turquoise necklace in the movie- to add more color to the outfit because I love adding colors onto colors.  So you could say this outfit was inspired a little bit of Pocahontas.

Now the back~ the back was the statement of this whole outfit. I decided to put my hair in a ponytail to emphasize the ribbon detail at the back so everyone can witness it. Haha! Adding more to skin-baring phenomena, I showed a little bit of midriff- sans abs line- and kept the shoes into a minimalistic black open-toed sandals. 

Top from Binkydoodles, Shoes from Charles and Keith

 

Till next post,

Shannen 

xx

I am totally obsessed with the red-lips frenzy nowadays. You'd find my MAC Ruby Woo in my bag all the time. I love it. I donned my first red-lips look back on the last week of December in Manila. What better way to end the year than red lips, blue striped outfit and gold shoes? 

My other obsession now is my bowler hat that I got from What A Girl Wants. The hat matches every outfit I wear, whether classic look or the grungy type. So apparently bowler hats aren't just for the hipsters huh? I just threw this ensemble on without having second thoughts. I love prints; so stripes on stripes wasn't much of a better. And adding some gold shoes to top it off, just stood me out. (I think?)

 Sidenote: I loved taking outfit shots in my aunt's neighborhood back in Manila. Clean and not-so-spacious but decent-looking roads sufficed for a little photoshoot.

Top from Mango, Skirt from SM Department, Bowler Hat from WAGW, Shoes from Cole Vintage

Shannen 

xx