Working Piece: Gray Maxi

More often that not, when you're too busy thinking about work... you tend to grab the easiest clothing pieces to wear for work.  I try to avoid wearing the same clothes within a month or so, but opted to work with basics like this gray maxi.

About two weeks ago, I reincarnated this gray maxi, and paired it with pops of neon:

F21 in SM Aura Part Deux

Here are some photos of the people behind Forever 21 :)  
The stylists (our visual merchandisers) who did the show: Abel and Jerina
Look for them when you go to the store, and get styled by these two fab girls!

Forever 21 Opens

Months of hard work finally paid off last weekend — my newest baby opened with a bang at SM Aura Premier.  I know everyone was talking about Sarah Jessica Parker and the mall, but I was just too busy preparing for my latest store.  Yes, I love my store too much to leave it and run to the press con to take a glimpse of SJP. Sigh!  There will be other opportunities.

But, moving on... May 16 and 17 were really busy days for the whole F21 team, so I hardly got to document everything :o  Here are a glimpse of what my life was like in those two days :)

MAY 16

Bright and early at SM Aura Premier

See You At The Sale!

It's the mega Forever 21 SM Megamall 3-Day Sale on May 03-05. Get up to 50% off fabulous items! See you all there!!! :D

 

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10% DISCOUNT WITH YOUR FOREVER 21 MASTERCARD
     * With a minimum purchase of P5000 on regular-priced items.

10% OFF FOR SM ADVANTAGE CARDHOLDERS,
     * 10 am - 12 nn, Friday - On all regular priced items
     * 12 nn Friday until Sunday - With a minimum purchase of P3000 on regular-priced items

5% REBATE FOR BDO CARDHOLDERS
     * With a minimum purchase of P5000

Store Hours:
Friday        09 am -12 mn
Saturday   10 am - 12 mn
Sunday     10 am - 11 pm

Space Invasion

I know it's been a looooong time since I've shared anything online via this blog (I've been more active on instagram - follow me at janekingsucheng), but I hope this entry will excite you as much as the event did for me and my fellow guests :)

Today is the start of the much awaited annual "Make Your Own Havaianas" event.  I can't believe this is their 8th year, which means I have eight customized Havs already :o  I think I'm an addict ;) 

Like always, the Havaianas team is prepared to accommodate tens of thousands of "havaianaticos" to the Rockwell Tent.   You'll be greeted with several tents with installations as you wait your turn at the main venue:

 

You'll surely love the last waiting area, where you'll see this backlit installations that reminded me of colorful stencils :)

As soon as I got in, I was greeted with the guys serving alcoholic (I found out too late! I haven't drank for the longest time) drinks and grilled sandwiches and pitas:

And the original and still the best cupcake in the Philippines, Sonja's, was there as well with yummy tidbits :D

Their photo wall was pretty cool, too!

You can even have fun and design your own pair.  I'll expound this some time soon ;)

Can you guess how many flip flops were used to make this?  The hosts shared it later on - 1,753!

A big LED was on stage to show the guests what's happening all throughout the night.

Here's the form that you have to fill out before they make your pair.
Don't you just love the outer space-themed pins?
 

Here's a glimpse of what will be available this weekend.  
Tip: try to go tomorrow.  The best ones usually go out of stock by Saturday or Sunday.

I got to the venue late - like 830PM :o  So I only got to mingle for a few minutes.
Bumped into Daryl Chang of Preview and her boyfriend Mano of Rogue.

...and Angelo of Megastyle.ph and L.A. of Mega magazine.

I went on my way and finally picked a combination for my flipflops, when I heard good friend Robby Carmona calling me for an impromptu meeting for a project - details soon!
 Here he is, goofing around with me ;)
 

I got myself a glass of pink lemonade, realizing that it's spiked after I finished the whole things.  I was already thirsty by then haha...

I like the fact that there are mirrors at the bottom for you to easily check out your picks :)

Last stop - payment!

I paid using my F21 MasterCard ;) I particularly love the dustbag this year, as it came with a set of colored markers which you can use to color the bag.

Tada!!! Here is my pair.  I always get the limited edition ones - I mean, that's the whole point of going to an MYOH event right?  The soles are glow-in-the-dark, too ;)  As for the pins, I picked everything that's related to outer space hehe...

Finally, my OOTD: Forever 21 top and shorts, paired with Sperry Topsider wedges and Prada clutch.

 

As you can see in the photo, I have avocado green streaks.  I'll tell you all about it very soon!
I know, I know! So much stories to share ;) 

Oh, and congratulations and thank you to Anne Gonzales and the rest of the Havaianas team, Jules and Alexis of GMCI who handles their PR, and Janice Villanueva and her events team!

First day High

My first day back at work was really packed, and I am not complaining.  We also had a hearty lunch with the whole F21 gang at Italliani's :) It's a great way to start 2013, actually.  How was yours? 

I am also loving the outfit that I pulled together.  It was a luxurious inspiration, if I may say so ;)  I am the type who chooses one piece of fashion item and works around it.  In this case, it was a pair of lace cropped pants that my mom got for me from her recent Hong Kong trip.  This forest green lace fabric gave a very opulent vibe, and the cigarette-cut of the pants is just so '50s chic!

  

Since I'm still on a holiday hangover, I paired it with a purple silk top from Forever 21, and blue reptile-printed platform wedges from Amazon.com.  Cropped pants can be unforgiving to petite ladies, as the hem ends around your ankles which can make you look shorter than you really are.  That's why cropped pants are better worn with heels or wedges or platforms.  

I topped it off with a white Givenchy Antigona—this sling "work" bag tones down this jewel-toned ensemble, making it perfect for day wear.  

Here's hoping I can pull off more fab outfits ;)

Happy 2013!!!

Spent the first day with my side of the family with a hearty lunch at Peking Garden (Greenbelt 5).  Here is a shot of the boys on their way to the resto :)

You know how families (moms, actually) like to wear coordinate outfits? 
Here's our version: Asked hubby to wear his checkered polo from Forever 21, 

while I made JJ put on this gingham print (from the Boy's section of SM department store).

I got this '50s diner-inspire polo for baby JP (from the baby's section at SM department store), with me wearing a striped polo from Uniqlo ;)

I was quite pleased with how I was able to put all of the elements together for the New Year ;) - red, glitter and dots!

OOTD: pink striped L/S polo from Uniqlo, tailored shimmer shorts from Forever 21, silver espadrille oxfords from Hong Kong, red Miu-Miu shades (with polka-dot prints to bring in more money for 2013), and white Givenchy Antigona. 

... and here's a group shot of the Cheng family!

From our family to yours, the Cheng's wishes you a blessed and prosperous 2013 :)

Crunch Time

Store openings always give me a high :D 

It's always so exciting—can't wait to see the Cebuanos shop this weekend ;)

F21 Loyalist

What a fun and tiring day it was. Yesterday was the first day of our (Forever 21) 3-day-sale in SM Makati.

Thank you to everyone who came, and who will be going again today and tomorrow. We promise you lots of great deals :D  

My Day in Cebu

I went to SM Cebu yesterday for meetings, and had a scrumptious lunch buffet for P500 at Radisson Blu. They're offering their lunch buffet at 50% off on Tuesdays---Life is sweet ;)

They had quite a variety of food for you to choose from.

They can even grill meat for you ;)

The interiors are modern and relaxing

Dessert was pretty good, too :D

So much to choose from!

Of course, I had to go to the loo.

Don't you just love their spacious toilet?

And the full-length mirror is a joy!

We had meetings right after lunch at the hotel lobby.

I ordered their berry-flavored iced tea---seems like it's freshly-brewed :D

Then it was off to SM Cebu to check out our "store"

I love our board-up design :D  Watch out for more of them before the end of the month.

For those living in Cebu and near the area, please do apply for a Forever 21 Mastercard to get exclusive perks in time for the opening ;)

After work duties, I met up with hubby's friend who's based there.
He treated me to Leona's, Cebu's pride when it comes to baked goodies.

I had their Japanese Cheesecake, so light and fluffy!

RJ, hubby's friend, bought us a whole Chocolate Cheesecake to bring home.
Thank you :D

Of course, we had to bring back some good ol' Cebuchon (short for Cebu Lechon) to Manila.
Good thing, there's a stall right outside the airport.

It's a bit more expensive, but it's still pretty good.

Got a few 1/2 kilo packages at P250 each.

Today, I opened my bag of goodies for my two boys.

Hubby already ate some of the Cebuchon this early morning.  The two of them spent breakfast in bed, munching on my pastries.

What a fruitful and fun day it was :D