Bought myself a folding bike for the city (so that i could leave my mountain bike in the mountains!). I didn't really want to spend too much on it, so I looked at some japanese surplus sites online and found this! Dahon for Courreges. How can I resist?!?
Andre Courreges was a French designer who set up his own couture house in 1961, after working for Balenciaga. "His love for cycling, racing and sports has had a huge impact on the way in which he designed." He has a strong link with the Op Art movement of the 60's and lays claim to the invention of the mini-skirt.
even luc likes it! :)
it makes me want to ride my bike in one of his mod pieces! :D
we made an ishq bag inspired by this signature courreges design. (we made ours in a similar shape in black/white and pink/white houndstooth, if you remember :) )
Finally sat at that elusive private table in Baguio, thanks to twinpopats, who invited me last minute (on my last minute weekend trip!). And because you missed my live-tweeting of the 8 courses, here are all the scrumptuous dishes served that night in that beautiful house!
By the way, before the feast began, twinpopbaguio and I came early to be able to see the house with its beautiful garden and spectacular views in the daylight, and even caught the sunset as the day was getting chilly. After some cocktails and a spread of appetizers - my favorite of which was the chicharon with smoked bangus dip (!) - we all took our places at "mama's table" to begin dinner....
The first plate set down infront of us looked impressive! And the contents did not disappoint!
apparently you are supposed to dip the anchovied butter fingertoast in it. YUM :D truly an appetizing appetizer!
squash with singkamas soup. you can't go wrong with any kind of squash soup, in my opionion.
first intermezzo: seared scallop on tabbouleh.
norwegian salmon on a bed of mushrooms, with mussels and buttered prawns
second intermezzo: creamed goat cheese with asparagus, crushed hazelnuts, roasted beet and strawberry vinaigrette, watercress, topped with a caperberry. perhaps my favorite dish of the night! :)
seared and roasted tenderloin with corn, zucchini and mushroom risotto, and buttered french snow peas. guess which part i loved here :D
salad at the end of the meal, to help digest, french-style: lola rosa, romaine lettuce, watercress with apples, oranges, walnuts in a citrus vinaigrette. refreshing indeed... to prepare for the killer dessert...
pavlova with mangoes, strawberries and toblerone chocolate sauce.
yes i actually ate all of that in one (long and perfectly paced) sitting :D the best part of the experience is really the gracious gracious host and chef! :) (so this may just be step #3 *winkwink*)
it's not everyday that i find design that blows me away... and so i'm so happy to indulge in this discovery of mine...
yesterday, i headed to the old sulo hotel for a UNICEF presentation... only to find out that the hotel has been refurbished and is TOTALLY beautiful.
without exaggerating -- for me, it's the BEST designed hotel that i've seen in the city. it beats all the other boutique hotels that have been sprouting up around the metro.
this is one of the first things i noticed -- VERY cute chandeliers that have been fused with a big twig.
too bad i didn't get to take a photo of the ballroom... but here's the hall outside it.
even the fresh arrangements are so tasteful!!!
this is pretty much what you see when you enter the hotel...
the styled bookshelves and seating area...
old books, animal figurines, purple sequined pillows... who put this all together???
the beautiful chandeliers & lighting...
the very cleverly chosen and placed tiles...
the reception area with the glass that matches the tiles...
the cafe (even the buffet table and floral arrangements are spot on) that overlooks the pool...
the pool area...
the bar... where no detail was overlooked...
everything is so tastefully done... and i feel like this look is a look that SO MANY are trying to achieve -- but i've only seen it really successfully done here.
i didn't get to see any of the rooms -- so i looked up their website and i was NOT disappointed! look at this! wow!
it's awful but my first thought was that this was not done by a Filipino. i was pleasantly surprised to find out that it WAS in fact done by one -- although she did spend 20 years in Spain -- so that might explain the success of the design too.
