I'm baaaack!

The girl is back! It’s about time too! I know I said I’d be gone for three weeks, but the trips just kept coming. Might as well take advantage since I have the opportunity, right! I bet you were wondering if I was ever going to come back from my travels. Well, I’m home and ready to start again. Though before I do, let me just reminisce and share with you highlights of my trips to Hawaii, Philippines, Guam and Hawaii round 2 (I know, I love my home!) and road tripping to Vegas and all over northern AZ. You better get comfy because this is going to be a long entry and I want everyone to know what’s been keeping me away.

• First stop Hawaii to pick up my mom. Before entering our designated gate at the Honololu Airport, the customs guard asked my mom what she did for a living. She responded, "I'm a housewife." (Personally, I think she didn't say she was a farmer because she didn't want to raise the suspicion that we may be smuggling fruits with us. We weren't, but still...) He then turned to me and asked likewise. I said, "Same thing." As soon as I said that, I regretted it. I missed my chance to say out loud that I, Sherryl Tolentino Lane, am a designer! Ugh! I did have a small chance several hours later to redeem myself when the flight attendants passed out the disembarkation cards. There, in the small box marked for occupation, I wrote: Designer.

• My Lola Menang celebrated her 100^th birthday and we had an all day party for her. I also discovered that I have a great aunt who is a 102!!! The day after the festivities, my mom and I went zip lining in Tagaytay with Taal Volcano in the background. (It's not a highlight, more of a low light, that I wasn't able to find any fabrics to bring home with me.)

• Guam, such a lovely island. Too bad it gets such a bad rep from Hawaii locals. Despite the heat and humidity, it’s awesome! I suppose it helps that my brother, Ryan, was such a good tour guide. My mom and I were glad to spend time with him and meet his new girlfriend, Marina. She is exactly the kind of girl I’d want for my baby bro. I also went paddle boarding and rode a carabao named Betsy, which incidentally was owned by Joe, a local Chamorro who looked like Mr. T. Salamat po for showing my family a new way to eat coconut with shoyu and wasabi. So yummy!

My bro and Marina look so cute! She’s our newest fan in WA!

• I received a 50% Cole Haan discount!!! On my second flight home, I sat next to this woman with the most beautiful handbag. While she was settling into her seat, I kept sneaking glances at her gorgeous hobo (camel colored, soft, pebbled leather, thick rope handles, pockets at the gussets with smart tassels on the flap). Talk about lusting after it. It was to die! Turns out, she was a CH executive who noticed my own CH bag. At the end of the flight, she handed me a card, which I thought was her business card, but turned out to be an executive discount!!! I’m still reeling at the exchange! As soon as I deplaned, I called my cousin, Yvonne, and told her that we were going shopping. I bought a black textured wallet and black woven leather and suede hobo. It’s absolutely gorgeous! I love, love, LOVE it! (See, now this is exactly how I want other women to react about Sherryl & Shar handbags. I want them to salivate (I admit it, I did!) at the thought of owning one.)

I took a sly photo of her gem. This photo doesn’t do it justice!

• My honey turned 30 in August. We drove to Las Vegas to celebrate his milestone. Besides gambling, we went to the top of the Stratosphere and freaked ourselves out on Insanity The Ride and Big Shot.

• My cousin Trish’s wedding was beautiful and lots of fun. She was absolutely stunning! Besides the actual wedding, the best of times were hanging out with her and a few other girl cousins in the hotel room finishing up on last minute details. There was a moment when I thought, “Wow, we’re really grown up now. We’re all getting married.” I am truly blessed to be surrounded by such strong women in my family.

Tolentino Fashionistas: Yvonne, Trish & Me

• Witnessed three amazing sunsets from Sedona, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. Each one was breathtaking in its own right. All I could do was just soak in the beauty and savor the moment.

I’m not the only with the travel bug. Shar’s been parading throughout Europe since the beginning of September. (I’m SO J!) I’m sure she’s gathered some research along the way. Maybe she’ll pick up on some European fashions that haven’t hit the US yet. I’ve been tracking her on FB and she’ll be returning home tomorrow. I’ll be seeing her in less than two weeks!

Now that you’re up to speed, let’s have a little show and tell with my latest projects. What, you thought it was all play? Well, of course, I did some sewing! I made two bags. I managed to finish one in between my trips. It took me a whole month to complete it with cutting patterns one day, pinning two weeks later and sewing everything a week after that. Also, it didn't help any that I temporarily moved my workstation to the dining room. The sewing studio is currently being occupied by a roommate. Nonetheless, I managed to pull through. 

The second one was almost a complete disaster. I have to admit, I was totally and utterly distracted while sewing. I made lots of mistakes! Some were so obvious that I could just kick myself! I did a lot of seam ripping and re-measuring and re-sewing. I blame the Real Housewives of Atlanta for my goof ups. If it wasn’t for their juicy drama and wild, ghetto shenanigans I would have paid better attention to what I was doing. (By the way, Nene is my favorite.) It would have taken me three instead of four days to finish this bag if it weren’t for them, perhaps even two if I was completely in the zone.

I curious to see a solid, but I think I’ll stick to patterned fabrics for the outer shell.

I’m planning to give one of these bags to my mom as a belated birthday present. I ordered a bouquet from 1800FLOWERS (BEWARE of this company!!!) a week before her birthday, but the delivery never made it. The bastards told me the day AFTER her birthday that the order was cancelled! UGH, I was livid! Anyway, never mind. Brush it off my shoulder. I decided to give her a Sherryl & Shar bag instead because I know she’s anxious to have one. Besides, it’s much more personal this way. I just have to figure out which one to give. The other, I’ll take with me when I visit Shar. Hopefully, I can finish just one more before I leave.