Last November, we received a call from Nuffnang informing us that we will be representing the Philippines under the Hidden Gem Cateogry.   A month later, we found ourselves on our way to Malaysia for the  Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards to meet 500 other bloggers from Australia, China, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia & Hong Kong :)

We'd like to give Nuffnang a BIG THANK YOU for making us a part of this super fun experience!

Here are the pics to prove it...and this is only Day 1 :D

with fellow bloggers & nominees Erwan, Helga , Laureen, Camille & Tita Noemi.

The Finalists from the Philippines are:

Most Original Blog Design: Ditz Revolution by Helga Weber (Psst! Check out her self-portraits on Flickr too!)  Best Food Blog: The Fat Kid Inside by Erwan Heussaff  Best Travel Blog: Just Wandering by Nina Fuentes  Best Fashion Blog: It's Camille Co by the Mango It Girl herself :)  Best Photography Blog: Lantaw by Allan Barredo  Best Geek Blog: Geek Out by Bim Barbieto  Best Geek Blog: IPinoyLike by Che Lian  Best Geek Blog: Yugatech by Abe Olandres  Best Lifestlye Blog: JenniEpperson by Jenni Epperson  Best Parenting Blog: The Misis Chornicles by Bernadette Laurdaus Siazon

Yay for Team Philippines for bagging 4 out 13 awards: Best Travel Blog: Just Wandering by Nina Fuentes Best Geek Blog:  Geek Out by Bim Barbieto & Javyee Fernandez Best Lifestyle Blog: Jenni Epperson Best Hidden Gem: The Googly Gooeys by yours truly :)

We particularly enjoyed Malaysian stand-up comedian Harith Iskander's hilarious segment about Bruno Mars, drivers and pedestrians. :)

We weren't really expecting to win and we were just simply on a high, giddy & happy that we're in Malaysia with our fellow bloggers. We didn't prepare any speech so when we got onstage to receive the Hidden Gem Award, Ponggo pushed me in front of the mic and I pushed him back. I was too teary-eyed and overwhelmed to speak. I was only able to say, "Thank you". I was THAT useless onstage :P *drama queen*

Anyway, we'd like to thank YOU readers for this :) It just amazes us how a hobby of doodling about random stuff has brought us this opportunity :D The awards night ended and we all went to Zouk for the after-party! :D

This is us with the super fun group: Team Philippines! :D Check out their twitter accounts & blogs too. It's just inspiring to see people take time to pursue their passions & share it with everyone via blogging :)

After the after-party (redundant, eh?) at the Zouk, while waiting for the bus, Helga, Ponggo & I tried some Malaysian street food :) Yummy! Congratulations to the rest of the winners too!

As promised, let me tell you more about what went down at the recently concluded Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards, which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last December 16.

The event included a sit-down dinner at Putrajaya Marriot Hotel. Spectacular song and dance numbers were also prepared to entertain the 500 bloggers invited from all over Asia-Pacific to attend the awards night.

I feel so honored to be one of the invited bloggers, and a finalist at that too!

Here I am with my fellow finalists from the Philippines--Jenni Epperson for Best Lifestyle Blog and Erwan Heussaff for Best Food Blog.

This is actually only the 2nd time Nuffnang held an awards night. The first was 2 years ago in Singapore. I was told, at that time, Team Philippines was able to bring home only one trophy. It was for Best Travel Blog. Fast forward to now, we brought home FOUR! If I'm not mistaken, we won the most number of awards this year. Yay! I couldn't stop cheering my heart out! I'm proud to present to you the winners from Team Philippines:

Nina Fuentes for Best Travel Blog

Jayvee Fernandez (representing GeekOut.ph) for Best Geek Blog

Jenni Epperson for Best Lifestyle Blog

Husband and wife Tessa Pelayo-Go and Anthony Go for Hidden Gem

Some of you have been asking if I won Best Fashion Blog, unfortunately I didn't. But in all honesty, I'm more than happy to be even considered for the award. I really am! The team behind Nuffnang explained to me the intense selection process that went behind choosing the finalists for each category. All I can say is... WOW! I can't believe that out of the many many nominees and strict judging criteria, I have been lucky enough to be chosen as one of the finalists. I'm among great company. Thank you Nuffnang for giving me this opportunity. I will forever cherish this experience. Barely a year into blogging and already, THIS! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! For the nth time, God is good!

Days before the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards (NAPBAS), I still had nothing to wear. I had no time to make my own dress/gown so I was already kind of stressing out. Thank God one of our country's best young designers, Sassa Jimenez, came to my rescue. She sent me 3 beautiful dresses. It was so hard to choose! Finally, I decided to go with this:

Choosing what to wear to an event as big as NAPBAS is really important. Some may think it's such a trivial matter and that it's no big deal, but I always say, as a blogger, you have the power to show the world what your country can offer. We're not just bloggers. In many ways, we represent our country. Getting invited to international events like this is a great way to tell the world, "Hey! We're from the Philippines, and we're THIS awesome!"

Sassa's creation did a great job at achieving this. So many people took notice and praised my dress. I felt like such a princess! So how did I style my look?

Miss Sartorial sequined detachable  collar | Sassa Jimenez dress I Customized pearl earrings

Because my dress is already so feminine, I decided to add a little quirky and androgynous touch by adding my sequined detachable collar. I kept my accessories minimal to keep my look sophisticated but I made sure all my accessories are statement-making pieces.

From Singapore bag

YSL shoes

Lastly, I wore bright red shoes to break the monotony.

Hype this look on Lookbook.nu here.