Weekend Recap: The Debut!

My beautiful baby sister and the 18 Roses Dance and blowing out her 18 candles with a little helper!

Hi loves! I'm finally back after a busy weekend full of family, friends, and a milestone party to remember! My little sister turned 18 so we celebrated by throwing her a traditional Filipino Debut- a coming of age fete that is often compared to the Spanish "Quinceanera!"

My little sis chose a black and white "star-studded" theme complete with flashing lights and red carpets. Just like an awards show, guests struck a pose and smiled for the cameras as they entered!

The Debut is marked by a Cotillion Court, a Father/Daughter Dance, the 18 Roses Dance, and the Debutante's Speech.

The Cotillion Court
The Debutante handpicks her "Cotillion court" who in turn performs "The Grand Cotillion Dance," which is usually a classic waltz, in her honor! Traditionally 18 are chosen- 9 males and 9 females, and we had the most fun getting together over 2 months to practice the choreographed dance!

The court wears formal gowns and suiting chosen by the celebrant. Kase was gracious enough to allow us to wear prom gowns instead of buying new dresses. Seeing as I have not attended prom in almost a decade, and I'm pinching pennies until I find that dream job, I busted out my dress from 2002- please forgive me for the ridiculous amount of pink and sparkly beading...

I was so happy to still be able to squeeze into it! Don't ask me about breathing...

The Father/Daughter Dance and the 18 Roses Dance
After (in my opinion) rocking it out to the waltz, my (proud) dad took my sister for a few spins around the dance floor! So presh!

He was followed by 18 men who presented her with a single rose before dancing with her as well! I weasled my way into handing out the 18 roses, and was big sis sneaky when I gave the "last rose" (So Bachelor/Bachelorette haha!) to a new crush of the best kind, a mutual one! The look on her face was PRICELESS ;)

The Debutante's Speech
Before the after party dancing commenced, my sister gave the Debutante Speech in which the celebrant thanks her guests for being an important part of her life and for helping her get to where she is today!

Phew...that was a long one loves, but I promised I'd share! My little sister had the time of her life, and I couldn't be more proud of her! What did you do this weekend? Do you have family/cultural traditions that you love to celebrate? I'm looking forward to several nights of much needed recovery ;)

Dear Weekend and others...

{via}

Dear Mother-in-law,
Thanks so much for the illegal amount of peonies. The condo is happily peppered with mini vases of hot pink blooms.

Dear Gym "Baller,"
I came to work up a good sweat and get my tush in shape not to flirt with boys. Either way "Lord have mercy" and "Girl, what's yo name" are not welcome.

Dear Bobby Flay, Tyler Florence, and Giada De Laurentis,
Thank you for your brilliant recipes! I'm hoping they make me look like a rockstar in the kitchen this weekend.

Dear overweight jackass in a kid's size polo and too short of shorts at Jeff's Bucket Shop,
When I'm graciously introducing you and your song, "I'm proud to be an American," it is not kind to reprimand me with "Do you even know what it's like to be American?" Well Hello to you too, and I was not aware Americans were only white?

Dear best friends,
Thanks for sticking up for me when said jackass was being a jackass.

Dear Grooveshark,
You rock. I'm loving the 90's playlist you helped me make- Gin Blossoms. Lisa Loeb. Meredith Brooks. Nirvana. Counting Crows. Smashing Pumpkins. Better than Ezra. Sinead O' Connor. The Cranberries, etc., etc. etc. Loving it!

Dear Farmer's Market,
The asparagus and strawberries were fresh and delicious and went perfectly with our mimosa brunch of Steak and Eggs Benedict!

And lastly and most importantly...

Dear Weekend,
Thanks for finally arriving and bringing the sunshine and family!! I have been awaiting your arrival since Monday morning :)

Dear darling loves,
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!
Cheers,
Roxy

To my baby sister...

Kase and I goofing off on Halloween last year

"There is no better friend than a sister. And there is no better sister than you. "

Happy Birthday to my baby sis who turns the big 18 today!! I've loved every minute of watching you grow from my baby sis into my best friend :)

p.s. Stay tuned loves!! We are celebrating this weekend with a ton of friends and family with the traditional Filipino Debut and Grand Cotillion Dance- such fun traditions in my culture. Will report the festivities next week! So excited!!

We can go to the tropics...

In exactly ONE month from today,

I will be boarding a jumbo jet

and flying clear across the glObe...

...to my homeland in the TROPICS!!!

I almost forgot how close the big trip was UNTIL,

I stumbled across Isabela Capeto's ethnic and tropical collections here!

She names her collections after places ALL over the world,

and I can't help but to imagine myself in each place in every outfit.

What do you think loves? Don't all her frocks just take you away too?
p.s. Did you notice the gold threads braided into some of the models' hair? Love!

Flowers bloom and bikes hit the streets...

Remember when I paid the Apple a much needed visit about two weeks ago? Well, by the looks of it I should have somehow packed my bike.

All photos via

Ahh, bikes. The surest sign, other than flowers, that Spring has sprung in the city.
Yes indeed, my bike sat at home, as I ventured through the streets of Manhattan, but I must say I welcomed Spring in my own little fabulous (at least I thought it was!) way...

by sipping on a few glasses of delicious red on rooftops...
(Re-enacting my reaction when I stepped out of the elevator...Have you ever been in a 1500 sq. ft loft in NYC? Big Apple Apt. Heaven.)

and with dinner and cocktails al fresco with family who so happens to also be a best friend!
How have you welcomed Spring darlings?

If Kelly does it...

Isn't she just so stinkin' cute!

If you didn't already know, Kelly Ripa is an idol of mine! In my opinion she has it all- the (dark, handsome Italian) man of her dreams, a successful career AND a family (whoa, 3 kids!), and a fabulous apartment in SoHo! On top of that, she's funny, gorgeous, fit (check out those guns!), and stylish!

There is a certain pair of shoes that she wore 2 or 3 times last week and already once this week that are just sick! I did a little research this morning after seeing them and simultaneously dying over them all over again. If only they were in my budge! For $855, I just cannot make the Fendi Desir Suede Chiffon platforms mine *sigh*

Aren't they utterly fabulous?!

p.s. I have uncharacteristically been wanting to get a tattoo on my inner wrist for months now, but have refrained for obvious reasons. I obviously love all things Kelly and discovered this today. What do you think loves? Is it only cute when Kelly does it?

Itching to get dressed...

SO...I'm just dying to don some baubles, stack on some bangles, slip on fresh spring wedges, twirl around in a flirty skirt, drape a soft spring scarf around my neck, and layer, layer, layer (which is always a must in printemp's unpredictable hi's and low's!) cami's, blouses, cardi's, and blazers!

Unfortunately, "soul searching" does not always require getting out of my pj's, and although I always do, it's usually to change into a sports bra, workout tights, and asics- low maintenance for sure, but where's the fabulous fun in that? Enter Olivia Palermo who has shared her outfits everyday for the month of April on Vogue.com.

I know we love to hate her and hate to admit when we do love her (even if it's not for her shining personality), but I do really love her style! And if I'm not per se "getting dressed" in the way that I want too every morning, at least I can check out Olivia's stylish outfits!

Here are some of my faves!
Slouchy chic, shorts and stripes, and belted effortless style!

Sweet skirts, beaded embellishments, ruffles, and pops of color!

If you can get over your pride or love for sweet Whitney, go here for more of her fabulous outfits! What are you wearing this morning loves? Happy Monday!
xo
p.s. She names every piece in her outfits, and it's interesting to see how she mixes high and low (like Spring weather!) from Zara to Hermes!