MUSIC MONDAY: Myrus - Pusong Lito

♫ Ang puso ko'y nalilito ♪

♪♪♫ Nalilito kung sino sa inyo ♪♫

♫♪ Ang  isip ko'y gulong gulo ♪♫

♪♪ Gulong gulo kung sino sa inyo ♪

♫♪ Sino ba sa inyo ang pipiliin ko ♫♪♪

♪♫♪ Dalawa lang sana ang puso ko nang di na malito oh ♫♫

The love month has arrived! <3 <3 <3

This song reminded me of "Sana Dalawa ang Puso Ko" which got popularized when I was in grade school. And yes, there's a handful of people playing in my mind and a whole range of emotions tugging at my heart whenever I hear it.

But I'm not here to recall about past pains. I truly like this music video not only because my girl crush Cai Cortez was in it. It made me feel that we plus size Pinays are equally attractive and lovable. That representation, in my opinion, is something we should celebrate about. More music videos like this please! 

Meet The Looking Extra Seksi for Coco Beach Contestants!

The long wait is finally over! You've met the judges here; now it's time to introduce the fab hopefuls! 

Aries Guzman 

Age: 27 

 City: Pasig City 

Size: 16 

Reason for Joining: I want to win this vacation because I am actually a travel-phobe (a little now before it was a little crazier). I know that if I travel more, I'd be more comfortable with it. Furthermore, I get inspiration for my designs for Erzullie through my experience in life. I am actually responsible for Resort wear; and an Erzulliesta in vacation in an awesome place is always my inspiration. Therefore, if I do win this Coco Beach photo contest, I'd be able to help diminish my phobia of travel and get inspiration for the next Resort collection.

Ann Gelene Butawan

Age: 23  

City: Imus City 

Size 16

Reason for Joining: My birthday is coming this March 3rd and it will awesome if I will be celebrating it at the beach. Who wouldn't want to have a relaxing massage near the beach with your partner away from the city and pollution?

Berna Cuevas

Age: 26 

 City: Rizal 

 Size 18

Reason for Joining: I'm EXTRA in SIZE and EXTRA SEKSI in this rockin' swimsuit!  Even if this were long-sleeved rash-guard, I feel so confident! To the point that it was my first time to wear this boy-cut bottoms!

Silca Argoso

Age: 25 

 City: Mandaluyong 

 Size 18-20

Reason for Joining: Yep, I'm PLUS SIZE and PROUD! I love the beach and I love showcasing my curves. All my life I've been blessed with this amazing body and people who appreciate me. So I joined this photo contest 'coz I'm pretty hot and thick! Plus size and proud!

P.S. February is my birth month. This would be an awesome gift! 

Dimples Gonzales

Age: 42 

City: Pasay 

 Size: 14-16

Reason for Joining: For the Coco Beach Island Resort getaway, I would like to wear this Emerald two-piece swimsuit, (which by the way, I bought for an auction price of Php150.00 – isn’t that a great deal?).  I picked this emerald bikini, because according to pantone.com (which is the authority of color) emerald is the color for year 2013.

I hope that you would choose me for this giveaway, so I can surprise my hubby for a sweet time together wherein we could relive the experience of a wonderful moment at Puerto Galera (our first trip together to Galera was in 1996). I am sure he will be more than delighted to also catch the beauty of Coco Beach Island Resort.

It would be our 18^th Year Wedding Anniversary this July, and this getaway would be an awesome gift.

Lyn Guiyab

Age: 34 

 City: Kawit, Cavite 

Size: 20

Reason for Joining: I'm joining the contest to prove that we don't have to be skinny to be sexy! Wear whatever you want. Do whatever makes you happy. Enjoy life to the fullest! 

Cristina Gundran

Age: 25 

City: Quezon City 

 Size: 16

Reason for Joining: This contest is for plus size women to be more empowered! THAT BEING PLUS SIZE is an ASSET and flaunting your curves is SEXY by wearing the clothes you want and especially the swimsuit that accentuate your curves and loving your body. 

Loren Mae Monares

Age: 29 

 City: Makati 

 Size: 14

Reason for Joining: First, I am a nature lover and one of my favorite getaway is beach. These moments prove to be very relaxing, no stress, no make up (except at night! Haha!) and you get to really enjoy life! Second,I just realized I never had a beach outing last year and I think I deserve a break from all the hectic work for the past months to recharge! 

           

Post-Swap Meet and Greet High

Mitch and I had been promoting this event for the past weeks and we're grateful to have received lots of inquiries and encouraging responses from long-time friends and strangers alike. It probably means that there's a growing community of plus size Pinays who are looking for venues to interact and celebrate with kindred spirits. Like what I've mentioned here, we never imagined we'll get support from plus size brands let alone get their attention. 

Now that Pinay Curvies are getting many "where next?", I'd like to pause for a moment and recall that one fine Sunday afternoon when a number of heavenly bodies gathered together for merriment and went home feeling gifted. In more ways than one.

That cool venue called Pan de Amerikana in Katipunan*

We started with intros over pasta par-tey

That pink blouse possibly perfect for pang-romansa purposes from Monica

Berna's harlem pants that I did NOT get to take home *sobs*

Abi gets closer to check the stuff

Silencio! Swap meet going on!

In short, we had a grand time!+

Th first ever swap meet concluded with giveaways from our generous friends from ward88, Chubbly and Erzullie! 

Remember this event flyer?

I'm taking home this denim micromini! Wee!

ward88's swimsuit for Loren Mae, peplum skirt for Timmy, mullet skirt for Monica and micromini for moi

Chubbly's maroon dress for Timmy and scarf for Berna

Chubbly's dress for Tracee

Erzullie's pink dresses, ruffled skirts and pompom skirts for almost everyone!

Class picture muna!

 L-R: Aries (Erzullie), Monica, Loren Mae, Abi, Ann Gelene (ward88), Tracee, Berna (Erzullie); 

Seated: Lorna and Mitch of Pinay Curvies

Wacky!!!

And your pretty organizers! Walang kokontra! Haha!

Most photos were taken by Mitch Leus of Feastful Life

* - collage by Loren Mae Monares

+ - collage by Berna Cuevas

By the way, you may read other blog entries about this event here:

Berna's Fashion Weekender #3

Abi's The First Curvy Swap Meet and Greet
Mitch's Pinay Curvies Swap Meet and Greet

Grand Eyeball with Master Chef Pinoy Edition Finalist Ivory Yat

Thanks to the Christmas-New Year holiday leave last year, I finally got to watch Master Chef Pinoy Edition on a daily basis. I know I had a lot of catching up to do here, but I was quick to find Ivory Yat and Gian Espadera amusing. I have other favorites based on their creativity and impressive skills, but you know I tend to gravitate (virtually, in this case) towards cheerful souls and fellow curvies. I've been told that our energies get transferred to the food we prepare so I can digitally taste the love in Ivory's dishes. 

It all started with my desire to locate my kindred spirit online. When I did, I announced I'm girlcrushing on her. Let's look back. Hihi!

Tweeting with Miss Ivory

And then her mouthwatering tweet! 

Imagine my kilegs upon hearing this exciting news. All the more when I finally got to meet her! I assumed she won't get to recognize me in person (I'm wearing sunglasses in my display photo, you know). But, nooo! She dropped her conversation as soon as she spotted me from afar and  gave me a big hug! But wait, there's more. She told me, "Extra seksi nga!" then proceeded to greet Tracee, the next teammate behind me and said, "Extra seksi rin!" I'm sure she'll call Ehms the same if she were third in line. Haha! 

I  know they're on a tight schedule but I can't help but chat her up for a bit. Like, who's the grand winner (we'll all have to wait until the live cook-off on February 9th), how often they go on taping (4 times a week!), if they go uwian in their respective homes in  between tapings (no, they all live in the same residence a la Pinoy Big Brother) and an exchange of thoughts about melon (per food combining rules, it should be eaten alone) in relation to their challenge for yesterday's episode. I had a blast!

Kodak moment with Master Chef's Top 7 finalists (minus Ronnel, JR and Carla)

and my officemates Tina, Tracee and Fao

Fangirl mode!

How did she know I don't eat red meat? Lovin' how spicy it was! 

Miss Ivory's spicy tuyo aglio olio with kesong puti and cilantro toppings

Photos from Tina Rita and Ehms Carniyan.

Lipstick of the Day: Sephora's 03 Strawberry Kissed

After years of residing in the Netherlands, my old colleague Vannie flew back here for a long vacation. She had been my constant companion in kikay adventures like quests for the perfect kaftan to take to the team building, perfect outfit for the annual Cosmo bachelor bash and the likes. Guess what I received as a pasalubong from Holland? Something kikay, of course!

Needless to say, I was eager to world premiere her gift during the recent swap meet and greet that we organized. I like the stunning mixture of pink and red and how it feels silky upon application. If you're clumsy like me, you might see smears beyond the contours of your lips or, worse, in your teeth. (yeah, that's how messy I am). 

This cream lip stain delivers its promise to be long-lasting. But I don't like how dry it looks after a while. You have to be on watch to apply another coating to make it wet and conceal the cracks. I use Human Nature's peppermint lip balm to minimize the dryness and I would suggest you use your favorite lip balm, too, before applying this. 

How does it look on my extra seksi lips? Let me know what you think.

Lipstick of the Day: Sephora's 03 Strawberry Kissed
Photos by Mitch

Layout design by Fao

My Baby Turns 2!

Even before I turned 30, most people just can't zip it. They have to know when do I plan to have a baby. And I know THAT pattern. If you're single, they'll ask when you'll get married. When you do, they'll probe when you'll have a baby. When it happens, they'll demand for a follow-up kid. It simply never ends!

The truth is, I've had babies - not one, but many babies! You've heard about my defunct t-shirt business, my traveling dolls, my main blog, this kikay blog, this travel blog and, the latest, this fellowship of plus size Pinays. A few died, but the rest remains. And I pray that I can keep them all, that I can keep them alive in my spare time, that I can keep this passion in my heart ablaze. Please include me in your prayers, too.

Extra Seksi turns 2-year-old today! Unlike last year when I declared my elaborate plans that mostly backfired, I prefer to zip it and keep my gladness to myself. After all, like I've said here, I shall reward my hardwork with MORE WORK! But the kid in me just won't dismiss this as an ordinary day. A chocolate cake par-tey is in order!

The burpday girl!

Aristocrat's Chocolate Supreme

Enjoying my chocolate cake
Special thanks to Tracee for my doughnut bun and Fao for these photos! 

UPDATES: Swap Meet and Greet!

If you're still not convinced that this swap meet will be a demonstration of generosity and a parade of heavenly bodies, then let me tell you an important update. Pinay Curvies' little effort earned support from other plus size brands, namely, Erzullie and Chubbly. That means they're giving away a few samples from their line...and no swap will be required! Isn't that great news?

Sounds too good to be true? It's really happening! Check out their official statements here and there. 

Me and my big mouth are currently gagged so there's no way you can get any sneak preview as to what items they'll be sharing. It's for the lucky attendees to know. ;)

If you've just heard about this event, we are encouraging you to do the following easy steps:

1. Like our fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/PinayCurvies

2. Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/pinaycurvies

3. For bloggers, make a short post about the items you're up to swap and tweet us the link to your entry. For non-bloggers, just shoot us an email with the photo of your stuff to PinayCurvies@gmail.com. We aim to round up the items before the event itself.

Also, we encourage you to spread the news! Check out the event flyer below.

18.01.2013
EDIT: Guess what? Ward88 is joining this fest! They'll be giving away cool stuff for the lucky attendees! Kita kits!