Love, Paola ♥

It's possible that I might not totally be over our New Year Celebration this 2015, especially when I edited these photos, I'm reminded of how we make the best NYE parties. As I've mentioned in previous NYE blog posts, our celebration always has a theme. There are only 2 rules: (1) You cannot eat Media Noche when you're not in a costume and (2) No buying of one whole outfit (only props and accessories). These rules, of course, were made by me haha! This year's theme was Anime! I was worried at first that the parents and grandparents might not totally get what Anime is and that kiddies might have a hard time but everyone proved me wrong! As you scroll down the pictures, you'll see why.

See what I mean? My cousin Ariane was definitely the star of the night! The day before, we were just talking about our outfits and according to her, she's just going to improvise and dress up as one of the girl characters in Pokemon.. then she shows up like this! Haha! Apparently, one of her friends does Cosplay and she was able to borrow a costume for her and Tita Issa!

They both looked so pretty!

Family number 1 aka the most prepared family! Hahaha

I'm only posting a few solo pictures since we were too many, but of course I'm posting a photo of myself as Pikachu! Lol. It was a last minute outfit, I didn't know who to be cause I don't watch that much anime and Pikachu was the first character that came to mind!

Family number 2! My parents had no clue of what anime is at first but I'd say that there costumes were good enough!

My cousin Dani and his abs! So cute!!!

Family number 3 aka The Americans! Haha! At first I was worried that they might have a hard time since they brought limited clothes but everyone in the family was just so game and creative!

Family number 4! My tita's one confused anime character (at least she's cute)! Haha

And the almost star of the night! (I say almost since Ariane totally stole the spotlight from her haha) My lola, with her sewing skills, ALWAYS wins our costume party every year! She had no idea what Anime was but then I showed her a picture of Sailor Moon and she worked her way from there, it's amazing!

It's also the first time that my lolo dressed up so close to the theme! Usually his outfits are a little far off! Haha!

Let's not forget that family's baby, Olaf dressed up in an oversized shirt (totally not in theme) but who cares, he's cute anyway!

The daddies!

We we're all waiting for the reveal of the winners which were determined through voting.

And here they are! In first to third place, respectively! Ariane and I were always talking about how to beat Nanay during our costume parties and she finally did it! Haha!

Our sumptuous buffet by my mom and tita!

Shabu-shabu is a stable dish in our New Year's Eve menu.

After our costume party, we all dressed up as normal people again and proceeded with the party games! First up was Calamansi relay...

...with a twist!

Then some pyramid building using paper cups!

There was also an intense round of pick up sticks.

New year's celebration would never be complete without Pinoy Henyo!

A few minutes before midnight, we headed out for lights and sparklers! Look at all those happy faces!

When the sparklers ended, we did our midnight jump for some added height (physically and figuratively) for 2015!

Another yearly tradition is our exchange gift! I'm so happy our family from the US got to join us this year!

A toast, from our family to yours!

Cheers to one of the best New Year's celebrations our family has ever had. <3 p="">

Bottom's up! (Check out our lolo taking a selfie hahaha)

Hope you had a wonderful time reading through our celebration! This 2015, I'm thankful for family the most :)

Love, Paola

This post might be a little weird since it's almost a month since Christmas. But then I spent the holiday vacation back reading this blog and it's amazing how it's filled with so much memories (it has the record of our Christmas and New Year's celebration since 2011!). That's why even if I don't blog as much anymore, it might be a total waste not to record our holiday activities here, especially since it's one of the best ones we've had.

I've always loved dressing for Christmas eve. I make sure that my outfit is in theme, reminiscent of Christmas colors and the cold season. I'm always either in red or green or some kind of Christmas sweater. I got this cape-like cardigan a few months back but I reserved it for the Holidays and I'm so in love with it that I decided to make it the star of my outfit by wearing a black turtleneck canvas.

Another Christmas tradition is I pose by our piano and Christmas tree! This #ootd tradition has been going on since 2011!

Our family is big on gift giving, but this year, our Christmas tree is filled with more gifts than usual because our cousins and family from the States came to visit! It's been 8 years since their last visit in Manila. And even though I saw them during our visit to Cali last February, Ariane and I were SOOOOOOOO excited!!!

This blog might not yet know our furry little friend, Olaf. It's his first Christmas ever!

When midnight came, we prayed over our food and started our Noche Buena!

As I said, gift giving is another Christmas tradition we value that's why since it his first Christmas, Olaf gets a gift too. Olaf knows how to open a present and it's the cutest thing ever! Inside is a plush, blue octopus toy and the moment he saw it, he was as happy as boy with a new robot!