way past barongs and soens.

so as i was perusing rafe totengco's page for some spring vacation clutch inspiration (those that know me know that the LAST type of purse i need is a clutch but i can't get enough - see post on obsession), i stumbled across his blog again.

sidenote: for those that don't know, rafe is an international accessories designer that happens to be from the philippines. his bags are well known over the world and are huge amongst celebrities. his shop is in manhattan.

as part of his philippine celebrity, he was asked to guest judge the project runway philippines season 1 finale.

my 1st thought: oooh! i love project runway!
my 2nd thought: there's a project runway philippines?!

i watched the finale episode start to finish and it's pretty impressive that they were able to make a pretty much exact replica of the US version of the show. and i was doubly impressed and pleasantly surprised at the talent of the designers there. not that i doubt that filipinos have haute couture style but my view of the philippines is limited to my mom's provincial town/island (not that i'm hating because it's my favorite place in the philippines!) or the herds of people walking through the SM in makati - lovely, but not exactly bryant park.

i loved certain parts of all three collections, however, the obvious winner (and crowd fav) for his risks and impeccable sewing skills was aries lagat.


to see some filipino orginality (like totally "ee-no-bay-tib"), check out minute 2:30 until about 3:15. (take that US project runway!). my other favorite part of this episode was 8:23-8:24 but for all the wrong reasons.

if you want to see the whole episode and even better - who won (and how he admittedly embarrassed himself by falling down and hurting his knee - albeit in a endearing i-just-realized-my-dream kinda way), check out sweet project's you tube channel. pictures of all three collections (and other philippine fashion events) can be seen at kael06's flickr.

have a lovely day!

last night, i went home to see my niece and bring her my last batch of valentine-y cupcakes. when i got there, she came running up the stairs and greeted me with "happy balentimes day ninang!"
[ninang means godmother in tagalog]


happy balentimes day, indeed.

to do in washington dc: torpedo factory

*edited for grammar. when i get excited i don't pay attention! go go go!

every second thursday, the torpedo factory opens it's doors to the public. now, i've been there before but it was always closed so i never understood how great this place is. the factory has 82 studios, 6 galleries and an art school. tonight, for the public viewing, the artists were there after hours and had special add-ons for the guests including: a singer with a guitar, wine, cheese, and flowers for valentine's day.

anyway, within 10 minutes of being there i fell in love and bought my first pieces of art. they were made by a lovely ceramic artist named diana chamberlain. she makes these gorgeous dress sculptures that sometimes double as vases. besides the fancy, fancy shapes, sometimes she embosses the ceramics with gorgeous, delicate, french lace and then reglazes the lace trim in blue or black.

needless to say, with my current love for all things french, i went a little nuts in the store. to my credit though, i bought pieces that i could use instead of just stare at and squeal. besides, we ended talking to some artists about the economy and i felt great buying from the creator and not the 'man'. i now own the 4 coasters and the trivet below. don't they look great against my dark dining room table?

coasters & trivet by diana chamberlain

ps. i also fell in love with the book ends show located in the target gallery. the things that the artists made with books is AMAZING. i highly suggest that you visit it if you can; they are only there until the 22nd. and if you go, check out the rolodex. i'm still reeling and really, really want to buy it. sigh. santa, please? (this picture does it no justice. no justice.)

obsession: blood oranges

when i went to poland and few years ago, i had a layover in milan and flew alitalia to vienna (and eventually, to krakow - that's another story). it was a morning flight and we were treated to italian pastries, coffee and breakfast juices. i was surprised when the attendant handed me a glass of red liquid after i had asked for orange juice. it was then that i fell in love with blood oranges. and while that sounds really dramatic, i really have a tendency to get obsessed with things that i like. basically, i keep at it until i'm tired of it, and them move on to the next obsession (it being meals, juices, hobbies, recipes, and especially music - you get the picture). after my trip, still reeling after my discovery, my love for blood oranges was cut short when i couldn't find them anywhere here in dc. i tried specialty groceries, organic groceries, the internet. no go.

so yesterday, i was delighted (as in, i almost squealed out loud) to find blood oranges at the local grocery store. i thought of all the recipes that i had looked up after my trip that required blood oranges. i couldn't remember too many, and really, i'm happy just having the fruit/juice by itself. but i did remember a fennel salad that i tasted during restaurant week a few years ago at sette bello in arlington.

since the weather has been pretty mild lately, this was a perfect dinner idea for tonight. i paired it with a honey garlic salmon recipe that was adapted from a vietnamese recipe that my mom received from her co-worker.

salad of fennel, endive, blood oranges, and almonds
with a homemade champagne vinaigrette
shown with honey garlic roasted salmon topped with caramelized onions

now, off to make another batch of cupcakes for some friends (see? obsessed).

ready for delivery

(can you tell i'm so excited about this?)