Blog Giveaway: Ichigo Shoes

Another blog giveaway, dear readers - and this time it's for a pair of shoes. (Did anyone just faint? Because I did when I first found out about it!) Anyway, Aisa is giving away a pair of beautiful shoes from Ichigo and the mechanics are as easy as 1-2-3. Read the full mechanics here.

Blog Giveaway at bits + treats!!!

I just found another great blog giveaway! This time it's at bits + treats and you have the chance to win a tube of Bobbi Brown's Lash Glamour Extreme lengthening mascara! All you have to do is follow Bits and Treats' blog, like Hyphen's Facebook page and Bobbi Brown Philippines' Facebook page and leave a comment on the blog post. Easy peasy. Oh, and you will have to answer two simple questions.

Question one: What item from Hyphen would you like to win in the next Thanksgiving giveaway when I reach 200 followers?

Personally, I would want to win the ELF Everyday Brights Palette. I mean, what girl wouldn't want a wide assortment of eye makeup at her complete disposal, right?

And question two: As a blogger, what are you most thankful for?

Me, I am most thankful for being able to stay updated with the outside world through my blog. For one, I get to connect with complete strangers and learn more about their lives, thus turning them into virtual friends that I slowly but surely learn to love. And, for two, since I work online, I hardly get the chance to find out about sales, promotions or fads anymore. Through some of the blogs that I follow, however, I get to find out what I'm missing out on and when would be the best time to take my daughter out to score some great deals. The chance to share my thoughts and the things that I love with the world is just a bonus.

Join the giveaway while you still can! The contest ends on July 3, 2011.

On Soulmates

Sorry for the hiatus. I was in Davao for my friend Raymond's wedding. I was never much of a wedding person - and I'm not even sure I'll ever get married myself - but I definitely look up to people who commit themselves to one another for a lifetime. In fact, I didn't even thought Raymond was the marrying type. In fact, at his wedding, he gave a little speech and mentioned that himself. He said, "I never thought I'd ever get married. But Peachi is my soulmate and it's hard to let that go."

I'm not sure if I believe in soulmates when it comes to love, but Aristotle once said that a friend is a single soul dwelling in two bodies. I think that's interesting because that means that I actually have a handful of soulmates out there. And I love them all. And they all love me. So, even if I don't find a soulmate in love of my own, at least I know I have that - and that's worth the world to me.

Apartment-Hunting: Any Recommendations?

I have spent the past month looking for the perfect apartment. And to us, that currently translates to a place that isn't too far from Santana Grove, where the baby-daddy works; isn't too far from BF Homes, where the baby-grandparents live; isn't too far from the pediatrician that we currently have and I currently love; and isn't too far from coffee shops and shopping malls, so the mommy - me - can stay sane.

Well, I have narrowed down my options to three key places: Avida Towers Sucat, SM Fields Residences and Tribeca Private Residences. Do any of you guys live in these places or near them? Do you have any warnings or recommendations for me before we spend Php 3.5 million on the place?

On that note, I'm going to need some great interior design suggestions and help in the near future, so if any of you have any tips in that department, that would be great, as well. :)

BLOG GIVEAWAY WINNER!!!

The winner for my very first blog giveaway is Rovie Doll.

Congratulations, Rovie, and thanks for joining. Please email your full mailing address to ariangel.rod@gmail.com, so I can send you your unique rastafarian handmade thread earrings as soon as possible. :)

Also, thank you everyone else for joining, and remember: if you didn't win this time around, there's always next time! I will be having a lot of blog giveaways on this blog, so keep checking in to make sure you don't miss any of them. Have a great week! :) I'm off to Davao tomorrow - what are your plans?

- GIVEAWAY: Kenzaa Jumpsuit -

Hey guys,

I know how much you love blog giveaways, so here's another one for you to check out: Valerie is giving away a stunning Kenzaa jumpsuit over at her blog. So, if you love giveaways and you love stunning, fashionable outfits, head over there now and try your luck here. I've already joined myself. :)

Btw, my own blog giveaway just ended and I will be announcing the winner tomorrow morning, so check in at noon to find out if you won that pair of unique rastafarian handmade thread earrings.

Take the Pond's Unbeaten Challenge!

Do any of you use Pond's Flawless White products? If so, then you should take the Pond's Unbeaten Challenge. Okay, so it's not really a challenge. It's just a contest. Still, all you have to do is submit a 100-300 word testimonial about any Pond's Flawless White product and send it to ponds.unbeaten@gmail.com along with a photo of you with the product and you could win a Php 1000 gift certificate for Plains 'n' Prints, a hair makeover and a Pond's Flawless white gift pack. How great is that? Your email subject has to be: "Pond's Unbeaten - (your full name)", by the way, and once your entry is approved, you should be able to see it here. Mine's already up! :)

Lookbook.nu Look: Damsel in Distress

Whatever happened to Baby G's?

I remember that the very first thing I ever bought with my own money was a Baby G watch. It was navy blue - and I still have it, actually, minus its original leather strap - and I saved up 200 Euro to buy it in Germany back in 1999. Everyone in school had it; so, being the conformed sheep that I was in 6th grade, I had to have one to.

The one I'm wearing in this look was given to me 7 years after that, though. It was an unexpected Christmas gift from one of my favorite aunts. And, yes, I realize it's tattered and old and gross-looking now, but who says tattered and old and gross-looking can't pull an outfit together, right?

striped glittery grey and black Chaps tank top

and black Just G shorts

dirty pink Baby G watch

silver skull flats from eBay

Hype this look on Lookbook.nu!

How to Get Creative with Makeup Storage

I had been searching far and wide for the perfect makeup bag for quite some time, but I couldn't find any that suited my cuteness needs. That's when I realized that I didn't actually have to buy a cute makeup bag in order to get a cute makeup bag. (Am I losing you here?)

Well, when I went by the Oh My Gifts! stall in Alabang Town Center a few days ago, I saw this adorable Nici lion pencil bag staring up at me and - as if at a pet adoption center - I realized I just had to have him.

So, I bought him for Php 199 and transformed him into my new makeup bag. Not only is he fluffy and cute, but all of my beauty loot fits inside of him, too - such as my Covergirl collection and my vast collection of eyeliners. All I have to do is look for my lip gloss collection and he'll be complete. I haven't named him yet, though. Any suggestions? :)

If you want to get your own fluffy and cute makeup bag, just visit Oh My Gifts! stalls. They have Nici pencil bags available as hippos, leopards, frogs, lions and more!

Sheila Marquez & Dorothea Barth Jorgensen (in) Model’s Street Style

After Diane von Furstenberg Resort 2012, the models showed off their chic styles in the streets of New York’s Meatpacking District.

Copyright: Bonae L'Amour.

Dine at T.G.I. Friday's and Win a Canon EOS 1000D!

TGIF is probably one of my favorite restaurants ever. Aside from the Hard Rock-like ambience and R2D2 standing outside their Alabang Town Center branch, what I love most about TGIF is the fact that they have a smoking room - which, to me, is a very important asset when I want to have unhealthy food coupled with a few beers. Since it was my cheat day, I decided to live a little and try something more filling than my usual orders. I opted for a Fish Vera Cruz, which came with green peppers, red peppers and olives drowned in a delicious tomato sauce (Php 375):

And Henry had his usual Bacon Cheese Burger (which is extremely delicious and very filling, at Php 350):

Of course, we topped off our delicious meals with my favoritest dessert in the world: Oreo Madness:

Another great thing about TGIF is that their prices only seem high, but if you consider how humongous their servings are (for Asians, anyway) and how yummy everything is, the food is definitely worth the price. I mean, foreigners wouldn't flock to the place if they didn't provide authentic Western cuisine, right? (That's right. White boys are always in the house! Holla!)

Plus, until the end of July, T.G.I. Friday's is giving 11 lucky diners a chance to win a Canon EOS 1000D camera. All you have to do is order one of their Small Plates, pick up a coupon outside the door after you eat, fill it up, and drop it in the box. I've tried their Mango Quesadillas Small Plate - and don't be fooled by the name, I had enough left over to take home! - and they were sooo good and sooo affordable, the coupon was just a bonus.

Lookbook.nu Look: The World is My Oyster

Got time for a quick look before heading out for grocery-shopping!

pink Just G skirt with tomato print

(can also be worn as a top)

white Bayo sleeveless top with bows

HYPE THIS LOOK on Lookbook.nu

I'm also sporting unique Christmas-colored handmade thread earrings, similar to the ones in my blog giveaway. Quick, you have one more week to join and score a rastafarian-colored pair!

Fashion Compass' First Giveaway!

Aside from my own blog giveaway, there is also another great blog giveaway out there: Fashion Compass' first giveaway!

That's right. Two winners will each get a piece from SM Accessories: a stunning bronze floral cuff or a very stylish lavender headband. To see these accessory choices and read the full mechanics, click here. Good luck! :)

Do You Want to Join the Cosmo Team?

Sometime in March 2011, I sent in an application to Cosmopolitan magazine, answering one of their ads: the search for the next Cosmo.ph intern. And, on April 14, I was interviewed by Trixie Reyna and Cereb Gregorio along with 14 other hopefuls for the job.

I hadn't been inside the Summit HQ since my Candy Council of Cool days (which was - OMG - almost a decade ago already!), so it really blew my mind when I got there. I swear: Summit is the breeding house of fashionistas and ultra attractive people.

Anyway, being Little Miss Punctual, I got there half an hour early, which meant that I was actually the first one there (what a nerd!), but I was also the first one out of there (so ha!).

The first thing I had to do was just talk to Trixie and Cereb about why I wanted to work for Cosmo, what my favorite bits were in the magazine and what experiences I had in the industry - all while being videotaped by Nikki, one of their then-interns. And then I had to pretend that I was interviewing Natalie Portman… and since I tend to over-pretend at times, I actually ended up getting a little starstruck and tongue-tied. Can you say 'loser'? Still, I left the HQ exuding the amount of confidence you would expect from, well, someone that exudes an extraordinary amount of confidence. So, it really pained me when I didn't hear from them after the weekend. Or even the week after. And the week after that.

But, lo and behold! While I was out shopping with the baby and the baby-daddy the other day, I got an unexpected text from Cereb. She then called to apologize for not getting back to me sooner and then told me that they were interested in hiring me to start on the 20th of June. Suffice to say, I almost died. After all, working for Cosmo has been my dream since I started reading it (without my mother's knowledge) ten years ago.

Now, I'm supposed to leave for Davao on the 21st of June and for Cebu on the 15th of July. But, hey, Cosmo > random trips around the country, right? And who knows? I might get lucky and get to go anyway.

me, reading a back issue of Cosmo in my

black Forever 21 Hello Kitty tank top

Do you want to be a Cosmo intern, too? Then you're in luck because Cosmo is still searching for more interns. All you have to do is send your resume and writing samples to webmaster@cosmo.ph!

Yesterday, I tweeted: "I wish I had time to start a proper blog". Today, I decided to just go ahead and do it. Why not, right?

Well, before I get down to the nitty-gritty of what this blog is going to be about, I should introduce myself:

The name given to me at birth was Arianna Angeline Rodriguez, but my alias for as long as I can remember has been Wonder Woman. I am 24. My daughter is 1. In a nutshell, I am a movie, music, literature and yoga buff; and I love to walk, run and lounge around in high heels. Also, just so there's a record of this somewhere on the webosphere: I will marry Joseph Gordon-Levitt one day. Or James Franco. One of the two.

Now, I realize that most successful blogs out there focus on just one particular topic, like fashion or celebrity gossip, but there are too many things out there that I am passionate about to just choose one. So, be prepared to read a slew of different posts here - from movie reviews to shopping suggestions and from book reviews to parenting tips.

Come one, come all, and join me as Wonder Woman Rises.