THE daily chronicle SHOW

neiman marcus’ hip event started last friday October 6 and our local NM store has already ran out of gift bags 2 hours before closing time yesterday! for $ 350 worth of purchase for days October 6-9, you get a gift bag filled with yummy goodies from contemporary designers like rock and republic, cynthia steffe, tory by trb and so much more. i believe, this has been the best free goodie bag all these past years. here’s the free loot :

a theory canvas bag
a marc jacob cosmetic case
an elie tahari black tanktop
a seven for all mankind white tanktop
a juicy couture tshirt
vince headband
nars lip pencil in papua
tory by trb plastic bangle
american rejects cd
cynthia steffe compact mirror
diane von furstenberg play cards
rock and republic headband
christopher blue canvas belt
a laundry by shelli segal candle votive

i really needed several jackets for work, so, i waited for this event to complete my wardrobe deficit and get a free gift! i got this, a DKNY top, a nanette lepore and a cynthia steffe jacket. i’m so ready for fall! if only the weather is…….

i spent an extended lunch break at our local neiman marcus as shoe guru, manolo blahnik, arrives for a two-hour shoe-signing event. women clutching their manolos lined up to meet the man and be rewarded with his signature on their stylish shoe soles. dignified manolo was dressed in a double breasted cream jacket with matching bowtie. pleasant, cheerful and admirable - signing away. my two hour lunch break quickly melted away without a single calorie swallowed.

laurenn claridge of houston’s paper city lifestyle magazine will host on wednesday, august 23, the top 10 fall trends event at neiman marcus located at the east end of the massive houston galleria mall. the fete starts with a cocktail reception at eleven thirty in the morning with a fashion show following right at noon. expect models strutting the runway geared in leggings, sexy scarlet shoes, bold gold chain links and the seven other major trends big this fall.

for other NM houston store events, click here.

since winning the last project runway season 2, chloe dao has been busy with her expanding boutique in the rice village and has been creating a new collection that will make it’s debut this wednesday, june 28 at the art institute of houston. also in this event, partygoers will have a sneak peek preview of the upcoming bravo reality series project runway season 3, which by the way, will be premiered on july 12!

to join the cocktails merriment and front row seating, rsvp here and enter the code chloe.

a major two-day houston fashion party will be held this weekend starting with a preview brunch on friday allowing early birds to eat, shop and get the latest in trends and sale scoops before the runway show even begins. the fashion show will be headlined with collections from project runway’s first season alumna vanessa riley, betsey johnson, hip boutique gurej, lucho for men and so much more. for further information and ticket details, check it out here.

proceeds will go to The Rose, a non-profit breast cancer organization here in houston. too bad, we’re going out of town this weekend!

decades in l.a., cameron diaz’s and winona ryder’s favorite vintage shop and alexandra knight, houston’s premier handbag designer - are hosting a private trunk show to be held at posh st. regis hotel on may 8th monday.

more than just a consignment store, decades is a favorite shopping destination for hollywood stars and alexandra knight’s exotic leather handbags are the perfect accessories for them!

stop by monday for a blast from the past and more!

for those that are in the houston area, here are a few dates you need to mark in your already busy social calendar :

stylist, friend and owner of runway boutique, cassandra - is hosting a fashion show themed hollywood glamour, showcasing collection from vera wang, missoni, bcbg and so much more! hurry up, rsvp for this may 5th event and reserve a front row seat and a guaranteed vip gift bag!

donald pliner will have a personal appearance at his highland village store at the viewing of his latest spring 2006 collection. also making a special appearance is puppy pet, babydoll pliner (who appears in his ads always). this april 29th event will benefit the child advocates inc. of harris county. 10% of proceeds will benefit the charity organization.

beautiful and talented doris panos will stop by for a personal appearance at zadok’s trunk show for her lovely spring 2006 jewelry creations. the two-day event starts on friday april 28 from 11-5 p.m. so, to all gem addicts, stop by to chat with the designer and view her exquisite collections!

looking forward to some really busy days ahead!

project runway season 2 winner, chloe dao, will debut her winning collection in her hometown boutique, lot 8, this friday march 31. for those that neglected to be a part of the project runway cult this past season, chloe was the quiet yet confident asian (she’s from laos born in vietnam) who bested all equally talented (and some egotistical) young designers. rightfully picked by michael kors, debra messing, nina garcia (of elle magazine) and host, heidi klum - as project runway 2 winner, her collection boasts of classic elegant wearable pieces!

her collection will be touched, tried and picked upon by hundreds of houstonians who will be part of the fashionable mob of people flocking to her boutique this friday and saturday. so, if you happen to be in the neighborhood, stop by and maybe even grab the most-coveted lot 8 tank tops that are flying off the shelves!

why monday? a day after a glorious weekend? we are extremely busy at the office on monday. no one goes partying on a monday!

i guess the event caters to the ladies who work all throughout the weekends like realtors, certified socialites who party all weekend and wants to relax come monday or the weekend warriors. but for us who start their week dreading the monday blues, we can opt to avoid work, play sick and head to this little pamper party to spoil our tired toes, fingers and tickle our buying capacity fancy!

i do want to go but i simply can’t. i’m just glad to get the invite and wish that one day they decide to think of the monday-to-friday women workforce!

with both major holidays falling on a weekend, much more gatherings were planned and maximized. for us, nothing was spared. here are our highlights that new year’s weekend :

~ the usual friends and family gathered in our place saturday evening for dinner before midnight strikes. it was also the celebration for loven’s and lilith’s birthday. december 30th for loven and january 1st for lilith. we served grilled steaks, broiled fat lobsters, sweet yams and sauteed asparagus. my sister lilith brought crispy noodles with seafood sauce and loven’s mom prepared pancit canton (for long life) and shrimp with green peas. for dessert, we had tiramisu, fruit salad and chocolate-dipped strawberries. everyone didn’t stay long, for they wanted to have somebody at their house before midnight!

~ ben and i just watched the huge waterford-laden crystal ball drop on tv, clutching champagne-filled flutes and welcomed the new year with a festive mood!

~ attending mass for the first sunday of the new year, surely made our hearts light!

~ new year’s day lunch was spent at joy’s, as loven grilled his famous barbecue pork and chicken. his friends from work also joined us and a mahjong table was laid out for a quick mahjong game! for those that didn’t quite know the game, the island dvd was played!

~ late sunday evening, we received a call from ben’s relatives that they have been anticipating for us to come join them for their new year’s dinner. however late, ben and i joined them to taste some black-eyed peas for some good-luck and lamb chops for some weight-gainer delights!

~ day after new year’s was a non-working holiday for our office. most of our friends were back at work, so we both just chilled out, had some late breakfast and did some driving around and ate more left-overs!

what a fun weekend indeed! too bad, our home pc connection is still acting up, couldn’t upload pics! boohoo!

~ on saturday, december 17, that evening brought us to phi’s cool, contemporary home and enjoyed a relaxing sit-down dinner prepared by girlfriend, livi. it was a quiet dinner with four couple friends, as we sat and exchanged gifts, stories and wishes for the holiday season. first course was the crab appetizer stuffed in tomatoes with vinagrette dressing. very tasty and delicious. then followed by the main course, turducken, baked to perfection. equally tempting and yummy. this was served with sides of corn, buttery mashed potatoes, green beans and cranberries. second servings were just not enough. finally for dessert, strawberry cream pie. the delightful berries were huge and sweet. a perfect ending for a simple yet delectable dinner treat!

~ on christmas eve, we had a special dinner prepared at joy and loven’s home. it was extra memorable since it’s their first christmas spent in their newly-built house. loven’s mom cooked jamonada, pancit bihon, chicken sisig, sotanghon and baked salmon. for dessert we had fruit salad and suman. we stayed until almost midnight after exchanging and opening christmas presents!

~ bright and early christmas day, ben and i went to the early morning mass. we missed the midnight mass but we opted to wake up real early to beat the church rush and to avoid the crowded chapel. the rest of the day was spent with ben’s relatives. this time again with more food and loads of gifts!

holiday party pictures here.

with work hanging above our heads, i am now eager to go back and do some unfinished business in the clinic and hoping to prepare for the upcoming year agenda.

here’s to another new year to come!

it was not bad at all. it may even become a tradition.

preparation for our thanksgiving dinner went well under way since wednesday evening. i had my spinach dip done that night. all other recipes were tossed and mixed right after the macy’s thanksgiving parade ended. ben and i picked up our ham and turkey by ten in the morning, enjoying ourselves the blank roads and streets of that thursday morning. when they brought out the food in the car, both meat were golden, smelling aromatic and delicious. the side stuffing looked rich and appetizing, too.

i worked my miracle job in the kitchen hoping to get everything done by six, when friends and family start pouring in. i decided ahead of time creating simple menu that i can easily achieve without a hitch. i made sweet potatoes with marshmallows, hawaiian chicken with pineapples, prawns with orange sauce (recipe swiped from toni’s blog) and better than s*x cake for dessert. joy and loven promised to bring salmon topped with mayo, cole slaw and guinataan. my sister lilith volunteered to bring pancit palabok. with this food spread, we should have started our thanksgiving meal at breakfast and work our way to dinner.

by five thirty, friends jackie and thuan arrived with their kids and a whole bag of goodies and cakes. the usual cast of family characters arrived soon after and the laughter, shrieks and merrymaking continued until almost eleven, well after dessert. kids were bouncing around and adults engaging in friendly debates and juicy conversations. thanksgiving dinner was amazingly ok, as a matter of fact, it was great. too bad, the camera was neglected due to all the excitement and sugar-high. oh well. rest assured, i am not making all these up.

after taking a moment to be thankful for everything in life, i seriously realize, this thanksgiving celebration should really be a daily commitment to be grateful instead of a once-a-year excuse to over eat and watch grown men running after a football.

the despedida parties on my last week at my old work place lasted a few days. they first treated me for some cake and punch from our office department on thurday, lunch at black walnut with dr. pro on friday and finally, that same friday night, dr. y treated us out at saffron, an excellent morroccan restaurant. and in honor of me, everyone wore hermes orange (my fave color!) on my last thursday at work!

and more outings :

too bad, no pictures taken at saffron, ben and dr. y were strutting their moves with the belly dancer!