Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Walking on sunshine


The past few weeks have been anything but. My long standing battle with colds is still quite pressing and to make matters worse, I had to endure a few days with a bloody nose. Not the most convenient when you’re out and about. I was forced to tag along a family lunch in Alabang on Laguna Day Holiday because my dad operates our house ala Army Rangers, No Man Behind; specially the casualty. I was forced to buy myself mochi ice cream for dessert which served as a makeshift ice bag (whilst ‘twas thawing) to cease the bleeding. Two for the price of one.

On the abovementioned Holiday, I patiently watched my mother and sisters shopped for shoes while I literally stayed on one corner, bleeding. If there’s anything I got from a very simple childhood rearing by my folks, it’s to never compromise quality over quantity; which does not out rightly suggest go buy expensive, by the way. I have been taking a detour around Rustan’s to avoid the display rack housing this pair. I’ve done so successfully for the past few months until recently. I walked out of the store in them. END OF STORY.

Then there’s always work to whine about. I was never really the complaining type (Yes, people change). A key strength noticed by our Big Boss who I happen to be directly reporting to. Brownie points. I recently got on board the monotonous-work wave, aftermath of which is slacking off. I got a bitch slap of reality: maintain your best despite a dwindling motivation, keep it professional. I still think I have a spankin’ job, even with three full months spent in the office and not a single business travel. If there’s anything I miss, it’s sitting in a coffee shop or fancy restaurant in Bacolod to meet with haciendero clients, and really guapo hacienderos at that!  For the record, wholesome ang trabaho ko

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Bat your eyes girl, be otherworldly

Count your blessing, seduce a stranger


Relax, it's a song. Sometimes I feel like breaking into a happy dance for no apparent reason. Then there are times when I just want to stay in a corner, curl up in a ball and die. Hi blog, your momma's back. In case your mental image of my face lost its luster, well I'm plastering a new one right about now. I exude the afterglow of a burnout star after having too much to drink from the fountain of youth. At least I'd like to think I'm 21 years young in this photo. Boy, how many times have I actually looked younger than my age? We're not getting any younger. 

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Spring 'Flea' Queen

Shopping without the guilt trip. Who said it’s impossible to fit those two in one sentence? Forget the price tag, babyBehind this maarte façade and seemingly brand-crazy persona, I‘ve grown fondness for vintage and thrift finds readily available online. Ahh, the thrill of finding something I like without dropping my half-a-month's paycheck for an item or two. Sometimes though, the price premium of online thrift shops is still above what I’m willing to shell out for used clothing.


So I found myself on a mission to go on my first thrift shopping experience in thrift stores locally known as Ukay Ukay.  After all, who doesn't love a good bargain? I ended up waving the white flag after nearly an hour into the mission and went home empty handed. What went wrong you ask? The clothes were ridiculously overpriced at Php155 for an item. I’d always envy my sister Ela when she’d go home with a handful clothes from Ukay trips with her friends, dropping only a few hundred for about 5 separates. Php155 could’ve gotten her about 4 pieces already, a far cry from the price range the store was offering.

With actual Ukay-hopping off my list, I have to make do with what the World Wide Web has to offer. Decided to pool the clothes I got at bargain prices, I can only remember as far back. Here’s a quick run-down of the best bargains I’ve scored around the cyberworld and beyond.
  • Prairie Girl. (Php 200Crazy about floral chiffon dresses that double as office wear. This has a- Little House on the Prairie going on with the adorable neckline and the capelet feature.
  • Ice Princess. (Php 200I knew this will never work as a dress with my 5’6’’ frame but it’s too pretty to ignore. Don’t you just love the cut right below the waist plus the layers of thick lace that doesn’t make you itch? (nope, not even for a bit). I wore this over my footless tights and it looked pretty decent for work if you’re aiming for that just got out of skate practice- look
  • Oriental Warrior Princess. (Php 350) It had me on the kimono sleeves alone. It's very office-appropriate and public commute-friendly. The fuchsia color is so retro I just had to cinch it with a blue belt. 
  • Champagne Supernova. (Php 299)     I was randomly browsing through Penshoppe’s summer collection when I stumbled upon this beauty. Last one, my size..story of my life! I love the embellished waist making the dress look more expensive than its pricetag.
  • Flapper Girl. (Php 100) Black Zara dress I scored from Patricia Prieto's booth during Bloggers United II. Trust me, a little black dress will come to the rescue of any social calendar emergency. 
  • The Butterfly Effect. (Php 320)  I may not be able to sink my toes into sandy beaches but this cover up works wonderfully as casual wear. I absolutely despise wearing bras and anything tight fitting when at home and this tunic is the perfect weekend clothing without looking sloppy. I usually wear sports bra underneath so I don’t have to layer it over a tank top. And yeah, I don’t mind looking like a walking handkerchief sometimes.
  • Valley Girl. (Php 300Scored this from Patricia Prieto’s booth at Bloggers United 1! It was love at first sight from her spread in Candy Magazine back in 2010; fast track to the next summer, it was already up for grabs at the first installment of Bloggers United. One of my favorite finds ever! Reminds me so much of this dress from Valley Girl episode of Gossip Girl. 
I'm no Flea Queen but who can resist a good bargain? I sure can't. End of season sale is just around the corner.I don't know about you, but I'm hiding my debit & credit cards! 

Saturday, June 16, 2012

The rest is still unwritten

Who are you and what have you done to Ana? I woke up one morning feeling completely psyched going back to school. Zeroed in on enrolling myself in business school, actually. That week came by like a whirlwind, discussing matters with my parents from making successive calls to the admissions office to consolidating all necessary documents required for application. I knew my 10-month Marketing+Admin work experience in a multinational company isn't going to vouch for my one-way ticket in grad school, much less in business school? I couldn't grow balls to phone in this crucial inquiry but getting an answer was way better than not having any hunch at all. I'd like to know, despite my 10-month work experience, would my application be given fair consideration for admissions? I got a crisp, in-your-face NO. Point blank. Okay, it was more of a Not Now. It stung to hear the admissions officer explain further why I have to defer my application for the next 3-4 years. He made perfect sense, though.

Despite being quasi-rejected and under-qualified for formal graduate school education, I took a moment. Deep breaths, tear-soaked tissues later and a solid 10-minute spent blankly staring at my computer screen, I went back to work. Delay doesn't always mean denial. For now, it's project self-improvement for me. Thinking of continuing my stalled intermediate French language lessons, reading news headlines, etc.

I've been itching to go back my school to further my game in the corporate ladder. Apparently, the process reciprocates. You also have to gain the necessary work experience to make you cut for graduate school. It's a cut throat world, needless to say. Invest in your mind.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Chocolate Clothing BFF Style Challenge

DEAR FRIENDS, I would genuinely appreciate it if you can help my sisters increase their chances of winning the Chocolate Clothing BFF Style Challenge via Miss-Match by showing some love -- literally. 
  • Sign up at Miss Match (It's easy I swear, you only have to fill in a few questions)
  • Once you completed the registration process, they will automatically send you a verification email 
  • Click the link to verify your Miss Match account (this will direct you to the Miss Match website)
  • Head over to the FASHION FEED section and look for the entry SOUTHERN BELLE :) (it's on page 2 as of 06.04.12
  • The "Love it" option will automatically appear so just CLICK! :) 
Merci beaucoup! :)

PS. If you're having difficulty in locating her entry, please CLICK THIS instead. 

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Shop-and-Tell

'Cause when I shop the world gets better, it IS better. Then it's not anymore, and I need to do it again.
--Confessions of a Shopaholic
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After losing myself for several hours down the rabbit-haul (get it?), I realized the awful truth that nothing fuels my blogging fire better than tossing in a little fashion-log. I decided to stay in on Bloggers United weekend, avoiding last-minute teasers on Instagram and live updates on twitter. The decision did me good as I was able to equally spend my weekend between my family and my dear girlfriends + Dean. 

Teasers tortured me to the core. But you know what they say discipline can trample down the borders between dream and reality. I knew it was impossible to egress empty-handed so skipping the event proved to be the most economically-sound move. I'm not giving up on Project Arm Candy and my B-Fund's looking as promising and I plan to keep it this way until I turn 23. Capisce!

It didn't take much to convince myself to stay behind; this is where my reasonable, working girl self transcends. After all, I was scheduled to claim my much-awaited ROXY haul from Kams which we ordered online over at ROXY.COM about a month ago. Just so you know, I'm not entirely comfortable with this whole shop-and-tell, thing. It's like inviting unwanted judgement from a mass of strangers but I have to keep this blog afloat with fresh entries every now and then. I usually try to prove a point when drafting an entry but I guess I'm pleading the fifth with this one. It is what it is. I don't need to go great lengths to prove this is not bragging.

So what do we have here? First, some of the stuff Nanay got me from their annual anniversary trip abroad. She sure knows me well. I absolutely miss walking into an H&M store, I have a feeling I will, sooner than later. Next is my Roxy haul fresh from the West Coast <3 THANKS KAMS! Finally, we have a bunch of not-so-recent Topshop finds which have been sitting in my closet for the longest time :| karamihan sa kanila last year pa. 

Steering my blog into a different direction. I criiiiiinge at the term blogger and I've grown fondness for trivial everyday-adventure posts. Thinking of rounding up my favorite cheap thrills next!