I’m Shoe in Love: Find Your Perfect Pair 2012 was a huge success. Quite frankly, we were worried that we wouldn’t be able to beat last year’s attendance of 6,000 people. We didn’t have a major partner for this year, unlike last year when we had EastWest Bank.

We couldn’t ingress earlier since there was a Globe Tattoo event the night before but we were on standby at the event since 2AM on Saturday. You can just imagine how little energy we were running on.

Then the crowd arrived. And they never stopped.

Shoes, shoes and even more shoes.

Our favorite cupcakes from Sophie’s Mom

Clowning around during lull time

Again, thank you to everyone who dropped by this year’s I’m Shoe in Love. We hope you had a grand time shopping for your Perfect Pair! Bigger thanks to all our interns and volunteers who tirelessly helped us out over the entire weekend. You guys were great!

I wanted to see what the hype over the book was all about and well, it’s not even a novel- it’s porn. Still, I’ve read all 3 books just to get it done with and for discussion purposes with my friends. I don’t like not being in the loop. I can see why girls are crazy about the books, it’s a modern day fairytale – pages and pages of a gorgeous bad-boy billionaire gunning after some random chick (basically, a nobody), expensive gifting (is giving an Audi to someone you just met, normal?) and explicit details of their activity between the sheets (which could give Jude Deveraux a run for her money). It had potential to be a great read, as with any modern day chick lit had the author cut down the sex scenes by 50% 80%. One can only read so much of those “I’m going to spank you” and “my inner goddess screams”. Ugh. I’ll take Game Of Thrones any day.

On another note, we’ve got 2 weeks left to I’m Shoe in Love. It’s getting more stressful as work for Shoe in Love is starting to overlap with Fit All You Can and our PR work. Our interns were a great help over the 2-month duration but now they’re back in school and we’re short staffed. It’s no walk in the park.

I’m not complaining though. True to our word, we’re definitely making I’m Shoe in Love BIGGER and BETTER this year. We’ve increased the number of brands by around 30%, this way we’ll be offering more to our shoppers.

You can bet this year’s I’m Shoe in Love is going to be bigger and better! More brands, more shoes to feed your shoe addiction with!

To get a list of all our brands you can visit the Event Page HERE.

(insert press release)

Yes, it’s that time of the year once again! Because of last year’s wild turnout of over 6000 attendees, The LiST Group is continuing its tradition of bringing us over 100 fashionable shoe brands under one roof through their I’m Shoe in Love Event. If you’re looking for comfy flats, heel-less shoes, wedges, sneakers and whatever else you might fancy, they’re sure to have it (and at lower prices even!). Mark your calendars and head on down to The NBC Tent this coming June 30 – July 1 and rendezvous with your perfect pair.

For more information, visit: http://www.facebook.com/TheLiSTGroup.

No, we didn’t go out of town, it’s not even our monthsary, nothing really out of the ordinary weekend except for the bed weather, the amazing traffic (which I looooove – not sarcastic – i’ll explain later) and the only person who can turn the simplest of days to the most unforgettable ones. I am in such a high, it would be impossible to bring me down, so without further ado, here is actually what happened since Friday…

You see, me and V are really sleep deprived individuals (well, it’s also our own doing) especially during weeknights when we get off work and (after work) still go to the mall to destress and then extend going to our house until the wee hours of the morning – talking or watching TV or whatever  it is that we feel like doing just to spend quality time with each other (which I tell you, is never really enough <3). Fast forward to the day after means we only had some hours of sleep in the bag and then we repeat the week’s cycle. Don’t get me wrong, we are faaaaaaar from complaining. We have been accustomed to doing this and changing our pattern would not be an option (that would be major withdrawal for us) – we’ve been basically having this set up for the past 6 years (not counting that year in college), and we don’t know how else to be except of course, maybe when we’re um, “that” [must not be named] and we don’t have to go to separate homes and be apart when the night comes, the land is dark and the moon is the only light that we see ;)

Which is why we actually treasure our Saturday mornings in which we can sleep longer than usual before meeting up again (hehe) but this Saturday was  different. I already sensed that we would be getting home extra, extra late Friday pm/Saturday am since we’d be with some of my cousins trying out this midnight food bazaar (Mercato centrale) at Bonifacio High Street. We got home at around 4am , and V even had to travel all the way to their place after dropping me off at our house. So you can only imagine how we are basically crawling into our beds by 4-5am and longing for that Saturday morning long sleep. But then, there’s this dilemma – my longest radio idols, Chico and Delamar of the RX 93.1 Morning Rush are celebrating their 15th anniversary at a coffee shop in Ortigas  and are having a meet and greet with fans. Now, this might be a very simple consideration for most – after all, in this day and age, who has radio idols? Well, I do. For me, it’s them, since 15 years ago. I’ve maintained my loyalty and this 15th year get together I figured was my first chance to really meet them in person – the top 2 of my celebrity favorites, of whom I feel so attached to from their stories every morning and recently, their blogs and their tweets – but that’s an entirely different story altogether (my one way friendship with them [i'm a silent rusher]) and V knows this story all too well. They’ve been a part of my life even before he came into it. I even made them part of his life (because when I listen, he listens) and I believe he’s grown to like them too. Not as much as I do, maybe but enough to encourage me to go to the get together :)

Friday night, I was already pitching this problem to him, I want to go but not suuuuuper (believe me! haha!) I figured I could always see them in malls some other time or if my guts allow, visit them in their booth someday – and (since I’m already dreaming, why not dream big?) if we could afford, have them as hosts for that dream date. hehehe. I was really torn weighing the fact that I do want a long sleep too since I know we won’t be sleeping Friday and I’m really concerned for V because he’s even much more in need of sleep than I am because I have it easy, our house is where we tambay that’s why he goes home late and gets to sleep much later than me. Their place is actually very prone to floods and I’m extra worried that there’s the added hassle of him going to and from QC sooooo late in the night (or super early morning) and then he has to wake up again only after a few hours and have to battle rain and the floods again. These were all the factors I’ve been considering – I really don’t want to make it hard for him or anything…

But, after a lot of pros and cons, he finally persuaded me to let him do this for me (so baliktad, right? haha. ako pa ang pinilit, ang arte ko lang) i.e., wake up really early Saturday morning and go with me to Chico and Delamar’s event. I think he knew how much I wanted this more than I even know myself. I’m really, really very thankful to V for really going out of his way to be there for me for something very, very trivial, if I may say so myself. Something that I myself am willing to miss since I know I would have felt sad not seeing them – but not that sad to really sulk about it. For me it was added bonus should I be at the event because I could always see them some other more convenient day – I was more concerned with V’s sleep and going to and from their house and ours (at weird hours) especially when its the rainy season and commuting is such a hassle for him.  But like I said, he super reassured me that it’s really ok and that I’d be regretting it very much if we don’t go and he constantly reminded me that he’s alright with no sleep and with the commute and all that jazz. I don’t know how he does it, because I myself am already very sleepy and tired, and I know he is too, but if he’s willing to go for me, who am I not to myself, right? Can I just say it again – I have the best, most unselfish, most considerate and most sensitive boyfriend in the whole wide world. Lucky, lucky me :)

So there we were, armed and ready Saturday morning, with us in high spirits even if we’re really, really groggy from the gimik before. We’re super smiling in anticipation with the moment that I finally do meet my idols :) BTW, we have this matching apps at our phones which gives us a bible verse everyday and the bible verse for Saturday was this: “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” – and boy, were we really blessed with a great day, can’t help but rejoice :)

The morning was not without “mis”-adventures, who would have thought that on Saturday morning the streets would be so traffic???? I almost thought that we wouldn’t make it. Although again, I was reassuring myself that it’s ok, after all, I’m already with V, we could just go somewhere else, push through Saturday as we already planned even without the Eye Ball. So all in all, there we were (silently) panicking. I know he doesn’t want to tell me that we might not make it after all since that makes it all too real, but I know he was thinking it :)) hahah. Even I was anticipating that so I’m also reassuring him that I’m ok and that I’m still thankful for all his efforts so there I was, driving like a mad taxi driver passing through side streets and beating traffic lights in panic but still singing with him, talking non stop about stuff (as if we weren’t just together hours before), making silly jokes and just enjoying the company. He was also in high spirits joking with me but I can see he’s becoming a bit tense already, checking radio announcements very often and checking twitter posts for any updates, etc. hahaha! But the biggest loser move of the day came 30 minutes before the event was ending, we were 2 streets away from the venue, and I was already kind of smug that “hey, we’re here!”,  it was up to my driving and then …. I MAKE A WRONG TURN!!!! The first street was the same way to our office so as a force of habit (I was also too intensely laughing at something with him) – I turned on the first street instead of the second, so V was saying, why are u turning? I wasn’t listening to him because I was too busy being proud of myself and I say, “because this is the way to….” and then I realize that I just pushed up the travel time so much longer because I entered the wrong street! With all the stop lights and the turns we have to go through again because I made a mistake, we just might miss the show!!! Oh men, you should have seen me when I realized my mistake, I was shouting inside the car, shouting and laughing at the same time and yeah, I was almost crying!!! V was laughing so hard because I was really frustrated and I was laughing a lot too, I could barely drive because really, WHAT A LOSER!!!!!!!!!!! There we were inches/minutes away from where we want to go and voila! I mess it up!!!!!!!!! OMG if you could have seen me then, what a sight, really, I felt like I was going crazy, we were really laughing so hard and I was tearing up and I was frantically looking for the easiest way out and yeah, I was hysterically shouting :)) V was laughing so hard, he had to take his seatbelt out. hahaha. But all is well that ends well, because we made it, I got to talk to them and I was deliriously happy seeing them. PERFECT!!!

C&V just woke up!!!

Us sneaking a pic with del and her baby daddy on the mirror :D

C&D makes makes my weekdays mornings great, V makes all my mornings and afternoons and evenings sooo much better ;)

Oh these pictures are priceless. It doesn’t even show how happy, “kilig” and giddy I was. I was keeping myself from shrieking in delight. haha! They were really kind and accommodating and happy to see all their listeners as well. But still, for me, it all boils down to the support V gave me during that morning. Oh he was so kind to let me just talk with Chico and Del and take our pictures as if he were the official photographer, he waited in line with me as we wait for our turn, he so willingly posed for the self portraits I asked that we take, he carried my stuff for me so I was free-er to walk around the place and “mingle” and yeah, he sat by the car so patiently as I update my Twitter and FB status messages with all the excitement that we had – oh he’s really perfect. Things that are as “shallow” as this (again, even I would scold myself from all this well, teenager stuff and baka sungitan ko pa sarili ko pag nakita ko ang ka artehang ito…haha!) but he’s so sweet and taking it all for me. That was the best part of the morning actually, and we’re not half way through the day yet :)

For lunch we went to Pino’s which was a place by the University and we had this sumptuous lunch which we also filled with funny talk and analysis (may ganun!) about the recent morning’s events with matching playing of our newest Android games – I needed to rest after all that excitement from the meeting, after all. hahaha!

My order: Dilis Rice with Spicy Tuyo - yum!

V's Crispy Tenderloin Tapsilog

And so, nothing like a good lunch to inspire us in our next lined up activity for the day: V’s DRIVING LESSONS!!! I’m so proud of V, I think, a few more sessions more and he’ll be ready! He’s now driving around UP which I think is a good practice place for him… Just a little adjustments here and there and I’d probably have a driver soon! hahah! joke ;) But I really think we made significant progress, we circled several times around the campus, I think I was able to explain several street tips to him courtesy of the Chris Clarin school of taxi driving, hahaha! You must know that driving in Manila (especially in EDSA) is no match for the lessons that driving schools teach you. You must learn my tips and tricks on battling jeeps, tricycles, buses, mud puddles and reckless drivers to be able to survive. hahah!  Anyway, back to V’s practice driving, he’s really getting good at it and pretty soon we’d be leveling up on practice places to drive and in the foreseeable future – i can see EDSA – and me on the passenger seat! weee! UNO will be so happy!!! It was such a great time for us, I really feel like we are a team when we do that, working on the same goal understanding each others quirks and thoughts even before said, it always amazes me how we work that way, really ;)

And driving was what we did, for our 3rd activity for that day, we were off to Taguig at the NBC tent to find the perfect shoes for me at the I’m Shoe in Love shoe sale which I’ve been waiting for the whole week! :D But before anything else on the shoe sale, let me tell you first about our amazing drive from QC to Taguig – always our favorite time of the day, in the warmth of our happy place Uno, while it’s raining very hard outside, we have our 90s sounds blasting from the Uno’s surround speakers – and I think I have everything I need that afternoon. V’s singing on top of his lungs (and me too), drumming on Uno’s dashboard, discussing the songs with me, holding my hands, kissing me ;) and talking about the future – I hardly felt the 1.5 hour traffic at all. I was even asking for more :)

Now for the main event – SHOES! I would not tell you extensively about the shoe sale we went to, I’d leave that to the fashion and sosyal blogs out there, but it was really good. Too good, I ended up 4 pairs of shoes and some clothes – haha. I know, don’t ask :D But hey, that’s what I went there for, right? I really need some shoes after not buying for sometime *so there, justified* haha! I loooove my new shoesies!!! But you know who I love more??? Of course, it’s the ever patient boyfriend who was literally there – shopping with me! I’m sure only a few women could say that about their bfs, he was literally there, inspecting my finds, telling me his opinions, lost gobsmacked in the sea of girls finding their perfect pair (well, he’s in for a treat, we saw Rhian Ramos cutie there. haha!) Anyway, he didn’t buy any for himself, the poor guy :( But literally he was so supportive of my shopping and splurging! wah! what more can I ask for? He’s really the sweetest. Hay, I’m just shoe in love!!! I guess it was just my day that day: lots o’ shoes, beautiful clothes and the most wonderful, supportive man. I’m really blessed :)

Anyway, to cap off this entry, let me show you my favorite pics from that event:

PICTURE 1 (WIN): we needed to have our picture taken to get the 10% discount on our purchases ;) (Angry Birds headgear FTW!!!)

PICTURE 2 (FAIL): Free Picture! The catch: We need to show the shoe that we got for 10% off :)) hahah. didn't know this until we were the next in line for the picture. And it was too late to back out. haha! And in panic, we chose the scarves on our heads as props. Finished product: we look like a couple of hustlers selling a shoe! hahaha!

It was such an eventful, happy day which ended with again with another happy travel back home (taguig to QC), a nice (full!) dinner with the parents *yum* and a marathon of the Games of Thrones. Hay..did I say it was perfect? If I have, then it’s because it really is. And if I haven’t well, it really is. hehe. Thank you V for being there all through the day supporting my craziness. You are love :)

And so we watched the series, while it was pouring hard outside and this led to Sunday which is as laid back as we wanted it to be. The gown fitting for a friend’s wedding was the only activity – otherwise, it was all sleep, and TV and this entry ;) Just to prepare for this incoming week which will again bring us a lot of sleepless nights but is also bringing us another out of town weekend (a visit to Twogs. yey!) which I have no doubts will be so great and would surely be blog worthy ;) Now if only I can finish that anniversary entry’s last part…