#YOLOstrea [via iPhone]

Yup, another sideboob LBD! Dress from American Apparel, earrings from Guess 

With the bride-to-be! Just a week before the big day.



I know I have a lot of things to blog about- January's been crazy busy so far! Still here, you guys... trying to keep it together. Took this night as an opportunity to slip onto something more feminine compared to my usual jeans-jacket-sneakers combo, but ah, forgot about the part where girls like myself were supposed to comb/tame their hair... 

Updates on this site of the web soon. xx 

UBER: Everyone's Private Driver [via iPhone]


So glad Uber is finally here in Manila! 

I've heard of Uber some time ago and only wished our taxi apps were more reliable & safe. It's been available in major cities worldwide and last week I got excited after my friend Christine sent me an e-mail about it coming to Manila. It's only been 2 weeks since they've started it and they initially have 6 cars. 

It was very timely that last Tuesday I was scheduled to have dinner with my friends at Rockwell. I would normally send my driver home after 8 PM so I took it as an opportunity to finally use the app. The app is free and signing up is easy. It looks like this : 


Getting a ride is really easy:

1. Open the app and register with your name, email, mobile number and credit/debit card details- all transactions/receipts/trip details will be emailed to you. It tells you how much will be charged so you don't have to worry about putting in your card details. 

2. Wait for a few minutes (4 minutes in my case since I was just at Rockwell) to get the automated confirmation via text and track your car on the app itself with an estimated time of arrival, your driver's name, his photo and plate number

 3. The app will notify you when your car arrives. Just tell the driver your destination and that's it! 

Things I love about Uber:

You don't have to hand in cash/pay the driver
• You can track the car on the app and cancel trips easily
• You can get the estimated cost of your trip 
• You pay with your credit card- you have no idea know how I've always wanted our cabs here to take credit/debit cards. I don't carry around a lot of cash since I know it isn't safe to be walking around with large sums of money here in the city! I also hate having a lot of money in my wallet since I'm always tempted to spend.
• It eliminates the problem of cab drivers asking for the extra Php 100-200 during long trips/busy days 
• It's safe- no crazy and creepy cab drivers who'll leave you hoping your seatbelt will save your life 
• You can SPLIT YOUR FARE as long as you all have the app! 

Right now, the service is available from 7am to 3am. It's so convenient if your personal driver/car isn't available or if you're not too sure about riding a cab late at night. 

Download the app and enter the promo code UberRaleene to get Php 1,000 worth of Uber credits
You can also click on this link to sign up and avail of the promo. It's valid for a whole month! 

And to my girl friends, you now have no excuse to skip our weekly dinner dates cos of "scary cabs". Get on Uber!!! 

It's only been 2 weeks since they've started here in Manila so spread the word! 
Follow them on Twitter and Instagram (@Uber_Manila)

Golden Gate + Sausalito + POFA


Obsessed with these dusty sneakerboots. If I could buy safety pairs, I would. 

When you have impatient and unwilling siblings as your photographers you can't help but flash this look of annoyance on 50% of your photos. Shoutout to my lazybutt siblings! Thanks for putting up with me anyways. ✌

C'mon, a trip to San Francisco isn't complete without a touristy photo of the Golden Gate Bridge! 

the city ♥

We visited Sausalito and I fell in love with the place! All I could do was daydream about having a house on top of the hill and owning a yacht.  

Special post with my mum since I liked her outfit today. Teased her about her getting style tips from this blog but she denies regularly visiting my site! My dad reads every post but how come my style/aesthetic won't rub off on him? Hmm.. 

We dropped by the Palace of Fine Arts. 

It reminded me of being in design school and having to memorize the parts and details of columns/classical orders. Not part of my favorite memories of interior architecture at all. 



Tomorrow's going to be our last day here in America and I can't help but think of how much I'll miss San Francisco. The number one reason why the fam chose this place for the holidays was the weather- it never gets too cold or too hot. Everything is accessible downtown and staying at the JW Marriot Union Square was really convenient for us. We're also thankful for family friends who were kind enough to drive us so we could tour around a bit. 

On our first week I expressed how I really missed Manila, mostly because of the weather, but later on I think what I missed the most was having my own place/personal space. Two weeks with the fam was a bit overwhelming for me- having people constantly talking and moving around me 24/7 is something I haven't been accustomed to for 7 years now. I like being in America obviously because it's a lot cleaner and organized than the Philippines, but it will never replace home. 

Because of friends and family I'm always tempted to move or work here. I can honestly see myself being here in the future but I don't think I'd be able to really settle here because of the weather (again, I HATE the cold) and me being an antisocial grinch- it makes me crave for happier/warmer people whenever I do decide to go out. That quality about Filipinos just keeps me sane. 

I'm excited to go back home and get back to working but I'll definitely miss San Francisco (except the food). 

Happy new year, guys! Hope you guys had a blast welcoming 2014.   :)