Goody Two Shoes

Doing a flashback to exactly a month-ago, as I was doing more panic-buying in the US for stuff to take back home for friends and family (it's a Filipino custom to bring gifts/tokens if one comes home from a trip): when I stumbled upon this cute pair of mary janes which slightly resembled ones from Marc Jacobs (at a fraction of the price may I add!). So I quickly grabbed them and alreay had them in mind as my "going home shoes".

Lo and behold.. they were such a pain to have on for a 20-something-hour-long period... especially on a 3-leg-trip. I wanted to throw them out or swap them with a cute Harajuku-dressed Japanese girl during my 2-hour Tokyo wait... but I just COULDNT! They were just as attractive as ever...
So I still had them on when hubby picked me up and he said they were such pretty shoes... it was a good thing he had bought 3 different drive-thru fastfood meals which I loved so we didnt have to stop (and walk from the car! ouch) to have late dinner. I looked at my pretty shoes and wondered why they could be so pretty but painful at the same time, I wanted to cry.

And now 1 month after... I opened my shoe closet and was brave enough to wear them again.

On a day when I did not do much walking....but sat my butt in the car all the while.

So I was SMILING! (Pardon the pale face... this is my post Shu Uemura cleansing oil face... I dont wear much make-up but I'm quite a cleaning freak)
"Goody two, goody two, goody goody two shoes Goody two, goody two, goody goody two shoes Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do? Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do?" - Adam Ant


Knitted Top: J. Crew
Jeans: Ones that were too short so I rolled them (from S&R membership supermarket)
Shoes: Pink Lily
Purse: LV Monogram Alma
Belt: a Bazaar find from 2 years back
Headscarf: Sash from Mango dress

Punch Drunk Love....

Look closely... quilted SKULLS!!!!! Loving, loving... LOVING the punk (really? spot the lollipop necklace.. not quite!) in me!


Tank: J. Crew
Vest: Skull Windbreaker Vest brand Unknown
Jeans: Lee
Botties: Urge @ The Ramp
Belt: Target
Lollipop Necklace: Target

Hubby's Take

Well, I managed to amuse hubby with my previous post... he took notice of it! Well, I dont think it lived up to even half of his standards but he never showed me an ounce of dismay. Rather, he took pictures of me talking to him and pretending to be a dancer in between laughs (we just got home from dining out after work and were laughing about the day's returns).... and he made a layout himself (in 30 minutes)!


Polo: American Eagle Outfitters
Cropped Cardigan: Zara
Skinnies: Mango
Straw Fedora: Topshop
Wedges: Steve Madden
Bag: Coach

Orchid

I was looking at my "usual" post layout, and found it pretty boring already... I've been struggling with making my own layouts (hubby is quite an expert at digital design though Engineering is his primary field, but I prefer to do my own layouts and leave him out of this personal style-blogging craze I am in), and found the usual ones quite OK... but then after browsing through some glossy mags and noticing the layouts (I am usually unaware of the layouts... always transfixed on the clothes)... I got a glimmer of inspiration.

So here's my first attempt to do something out of the ordinary....

Tank: Topshop
Blouse: Local Botique
White Skinnies: Mango
Button Platforms: F&H
Enamel Bangles and Earrings: Mango
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Bag: Coach

Of Mexican Telenovelas and Me

I felt like a Mexican telenovela character in this ruffled dress.. I loved the frilly feeling and though the skirt kept hiking up every so often... I just felt great! Notice the little island-looking dark spot on my skirt though... thats what happens when you have an active baby who manages to pee through her diapers even though they were freshly changed ones. And she only does that on me... which makes me wonder if I position my legs weirdly whenever she sits (more like jumps up and down like a cute monkey) on my lap...

Speaking of my princess... Here's one of her "primary outfits" for her birthday party.... There she is looking all sweet and demure staring at the bubbles from the bubble machine... It's taking us a while to upload her bday pictures because for some reason DSLR cameras just take such a while to load... which makes it lazy a task to upload... and oh the excuses one like me can come up with....

How time flies!!

And notice the native ball from my photos... hubby decided to go "artistic" and grabbed my point-and-shoot camera from my makeshift tripod... I kinda think he made fun of me because he had a blast because I looked like an egg just popped out of me.... well...how do you like it?? I just love it when the artsy-bug hits him....

Ruffled Dress: The Ramp
Bandage Heels: Stuart Weitzman
Belt: Wetseal
Suede Bag: Coach

NY Fashion Week Tidbits

I have yet to go through all collections from New York Fashion Week 2008. But as of now, I have come up with a few favorites, some are old ones.. some new discoveries!

To start of, Brian Reyes... fresh looks from a relatively young designer. He started off with Oscar dela Renta and had his own shows since 2006. I love his earth-tones, tulle mixed with cotton and lots of frills!

Michael Kors... lots of Nautical Retro feel. I love the bold colors and vivid prints!
Monique Lhuillier... everything looked so fresh and classy... I loved the figure-hugging pieces..
Started the week with a wrong foot... hubby caught a flu and I caught a fever... well, I am hoping to feel a lot better tomorrow... so I can go on with all the outfit posts!

I'm sending you all LOTS OF LOVE!

I'm getting back to the swing of things here... family, work, to-do stuff, etc. And though Summer was at its peak when I was in the US, the humidity in Manila is just a different thing! Some days here are rainy, some days are just HUMID! I'm lucky Airconditioning systems were invented, otherwise I wouldnt know what to do.

I'm still missing my 3rd bag, and my box that holds my clthes and other accumulated stuff from my 5-week stay in the US. The ladies at the airline check-in counter refused to accept my 3rd bag, despite me wailing to them that their website said Business Class passengers can check-in a total of 3 big bags! Now I have one extra bag to ship back here... and limited clothes (hubby says he doesnt feel the difference when he stares at the closet, on the verge of puking clothes! So I guess I should be happy to be reunited with my OTHER clothes!).

Anyway, on to the outfit posts...

Tank: Zara
Cardigan: Zara
Acid Wash Skinnies: Mango
Pumps: F21
Belt: Archaeology
Earrings: Local department Store

Dear Baby turned 1 and we dressed her up as a Disney Princess (Cinderella), and Mommy of course was feeling all frilly like her!

Dress: (I forgot the brand) It's a kids-wear dress from Belk
Shoes: Michael Kors
Bangles: Wetseal
Earrings: Pearls from Hubby

The Swing of Things

Guess who's back in Manila???

Wheeeeee!
Somebody made it home just in time for her baby's 1st birthday!!!

It feels different not waking up to this view:

Not braving the freeways in that big 'ol red SUV down there.

It feels different not having American lunchmates to chat with and compare notes... it feels lonely not having one really good friend (the Only Filipino employee) who loves dressing up like I do.

Took this picture of the same outfit in Austin...
Top: Topshop
Skirt: Marks and Spencer
Shoes: Nine West
Belts: Archaeology and Topshop

I am officially overwhelmed.. and excited because of all these SEASON PREMIERS!!

Think Gossip Girl Season 2 premier TONIGHT, then One Tree Hill (I caught a bit, was busy with the Shrimp-Pesto-Pasta) and then Beverly Hills 90210 tomorrow... and then The Hills on Sunday wheeeeeee!!! (I'm watching a rerun on MTV right now, Brody vs Stephanie in NYC.. its making me miss the best city hubby and I have ever been too).

Anyways, I think I am still having a Gossip Girl overload... think: The White Party... Oh my I LOVED Serena's grecian dress, Blairs rick-rack-eyelet dress, Jenny's creation... and I have to admit Chuck looked cute in his suit...

I remembered Blair's line "Damn that mother-Chucker!" and spotted her dress, an Alice and Olivia Garden party dress... which, apparently was also worn by America Ferrera on Ugly Betty.


Exibit A:

This is an example that the same dress can look so different when worn and styled by different individuals. Well of course Betty was intended to be Dorky and all... but the point is...you can wear identical outfits... its a fact that if you dress REALLY well.. people will just snatch what you wear and be an instant replica of you....... but you know, truth is: the person wearing the dress makes a HUGE difference.

The Princess and the Pea

As Knoxville people were getting ready for Boomsday, the annual labor day fireworks display… I took a trip with 3 scrapbooking friends up to Asheville, North Carolina to see the biggest house in the USA.

The Biltmore Estate!!! (If this view looks familiar, think Richie Rich the Movie, Forrest Gump, Hannibal, The Swan, among others)
It is a French-chateu inspired... MASSIVE structure, with ginormous rooms! I was SO glad we decided to take the audio-guided tour, and the rooftop tour (though I kinda freaked out a bit when we went 5 stories up to the brass top of the grand chandelier, and side-steped beside gargoyles and grotesques... my young friend, a college intern from the University of Tennessee found me really funny and she kept on snapping pictures of me getting paler and paler.. it was hillarious.. and IT SURE WAS FUN!!!) .

We took long walks around the gardens, and they even had a flower tapestry festival for Labor day... and the floral tapestry was just AMAZING... we went from one green house to another (the even had a hot house and a cold house) and then we tried out the manor deli... inside a former stable... (how cool was that)! And then we went to the vineyard and did some wine tasting... and then by 6pm, we decided to drive to nearby downtown Asheville and to another manor-inn nearby... it was tiring but can you tell I had so much fun!??

YES hubby makes me feel like a princess at ALL times… and I think this princess has found her lost castle!!! But I think this princess is gaining waaaaay too much weight too... (fat-a*s princess!)

Tank: Mango
Top: Wetseal
High Waisted cropped denims: Buffalo
Flatties: Zara
Purse: Polo Jeans RL
Fedora: Topshop