Wednesday, December 24, 2014

when christmas season mean a string of christmas parties


First things first, the shop is now open (or, technically, reopened) and catering to local buyers...for now. If you want to look into the items I've put on sale, click this link: shopfreespirit. Instructions on how to purchase the items posted there are located at the bottom of the page. As of this moment, since, I suppose, tumblr is fixing a few things up on their site, if it says error, bad gateway for you, it does the same for me. The site is, at this time, virtually inaccessible as of yet. I hope they fix the glitch soon.

I haven't been able to document a lot of the Christmas Party outfits this season but here's one I wore to the party held at home. 

It is going to be a busy holiday vacation of meeting up with people, planning a small, intimate party for something...or someone?, and, the usual: thesis writing. I'm not done with it yet and this is basically my idea of a working holiday. Best of luck to me and to everyone still thinking of school or work at this time when we should be kicking our shoes off, putting our feet up and relaxing.

Well, happy holidays!

forever21 ankle boots and skirt, gifted crocheted(?) long-sleeved shirt

P.S.
Oh, and I'm catching up to a few tokusatsu (namely: Kamen Rider Drive and Ressha Sentai Toqger) as well. Fandom for me is a serious matter over all things. Funny and weird at the same time, yes.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

from a couple weeks ago

(photos by Candice Calonia. Thanks so much, b!)

Really late post. I swear I don't mean to fall off the face of the earth when I go back to Dumaguete City for school and yes, it's all because I'm finally finishing my last semester of graduate school. No one knows what's going to happen after this not even myself. I've been busy working on revising my Master's thesis proposal so far and colloqium is around the corner already so I've been sparse even in both accounts on twitter lately. Oh and instagram as well. It doesn't exactly mean I have abandoned anything.

I still do hang out with some friends from time to time but even they are sparse these days. I probably need to acquire new ones. Sort of. But being the usual introvert I am, I'm not that lonely, really. Basically just stressed now because of, well, a lot of work to do and I've been spending days on end in the library I've probably forgotten what civilization looks like. Yep, I dunno exactly anymore either.

Lately, it's been school-rented pad-school-and sometimes McDonalds' so far I'm a very normal college graduate school student, finally though I don't hang out in the graduate school section of the library too often. I love the second floor of the Silliman University library too much to mingle with co-gradschool students in the first floor. It's also been so hot these days my current wardrobe consists of denim shorts and a lot of tanks and camis later covered up with a hoodie when I'm freezing in the arctic...library.

Also, walking. When in Dumaguete City, there's so much walking to be had I've been ignoring pedicabs wanting to take me anywhere for a fare (fee) of 9 Php. Why ride when you can walk early in the morning or late in the evening and get exercise from that as well?

And it will be awhile before I ever get home so I might as well make the best of being here at this point. 
 

Oh and my special skills apparently now include carrying two to three things at the same time in one hand including coffee cups. I normally take mine iced regularly now. 

vintage boots, bag and curdoroy jacket; Mixed Berry skirt; hanes t.

Friday, October 10, 2014

recent

(my and Jan Michelle's photos)

1. A tad bit too small for me---I'm not a size 5 and am more of a size 7 but it seemed like a good-fit-for-me size 5 when I first tried it on---slip-on flats I found at the local Footstep. That place is multitudes of affordable footwear in style heaven, I swear.
2-3; 5-6. One shirt worn in different ways. This is about to be the 12th hour I am wearing the thing since this morning. I'll likely sleep in it. It's a lovely find from Savemore in Capistrano which is really more of a grocery store than a department store... Funny story, my brother must've thought it was for him, since it's actually a guy's shirt, when he found it in the grocery cart that time we were there.
4. Obsessed with the leather chair and the crate box-turned-coffee table at the Coffee Bean and Co. branch by Lim Ketkai Center; and, of course, my favorite iced chai tea latte
7. And lookie! I found a solo box of Acai Berry juice! I swear to get the bigger one next time. :D /addicted.

Savemore/SM Surplus men's baseball shirt; ShopWAGW faux leather shorts; Spartan (via Footstep) slip-ons, levis cutoffs; vintage boots, bag; 2nd hand Anne Klein hoodie

Friday, September 12, 2014

playing catch-up: ss 2015 New York

New York Fashion Week for Spring/Summer 2015 has just officially come to a close and London Fashion Week is up next. September 2014 is basically fashion month---London Fashion Week next, then Milan then Paris!---and being my birth month, it's like Christmas or candy wonderland for me although I'd wish I could afford the clothes I see on the runways at this time. Not likely to happen in this lifetime however. 

So much good stuff has come out of New York and prolific American designers I'm already looking forward to fashion week in Paris. I'm definitely going to take a hint from a lot of the trends this year and probably do my own rendition of them somehow. Just so I don't break the bank before I do start working by the following school year---March 2015 is hopefully the month I finally graduate from grad school. Yay!  

Social media has made fashion week so much easier to keep tabs on these days. I've done nothing but lurk around instagram and twitter for updates on these and I was not disappointed by all the successive updates at all! This week, all I probably did was flood my friends in real life and from various fandoms with retweeted updates of fashion shows and such around New York. (Sorry, guys!) I shall count on social media again for Paris Fashion Week at the end of this month. Meanwhile, I'll be checking in once in a while with London and Milan's successive fashion weeks. Bring on the rest of Fashion Month September!

And without further ado, here are some trends that have grabbed my attention via social media:

 (via teenvogue on instagram)

All white everything on Frame Denim at the start of New York Fashion Week SS 2015. A lot of whites in my closet are begging to be styled this way. Later...yes.

 (via Rumi Neely on Instagram)

 (via Olivia Palermo/Vogue Paris on twitter)

(via British Vogue on twitter)

Tommy Hilfiger goes starry, colorful and boho. Seriously. And just about everyone from Olivia Palermo to Vogue Paris and Vogue UK are talking about this.
Luxe-ish pinstripped shorts are currently stuck in my head as of the last photo from this batch.

 (via netaporter on instagram)

3.1 Phillip Lim goes cheery yellow. I'm eternally stuck around the little white top however.

 (via style.com on twitter)


(via Rumi Neely on instagram)
 
One of the highlights for this fashion week in New York, the amazing little black dresses from Anthony Vaccarello's collection with Versus, Versace. Breathtaking details on mainly black. 

(via WhoWhatWear on twitter)

Rag and Bone keeps the urban street style (and beachwear) fans happy. Leather shorts and those slippers. A must to have just about everywhere especially in the islands.

(via WhoWhatWear on twitter)
(via netaporter on instagram)

Obsessed with the surfboards in Elizabeth and James and that sleeveless mini suit dress. 

(via Rumi Neely on instagram)

Another highlight for NYFW Spring/Summer 2015: Jason Wu's covetable pretty, sleek clean tailored collection for Hugo Boss. This collection is legit BOSS.

(via teenvogue on instagram)

Perfect and easy all black collection from Theory. 

Details...

 (via netaporter at instagram)

(via teenvogue at instagram)

All at Michael Kors Spring/Summer 2015
1. tied belt around the waist and that untamed shaggy shoulder-length hair
2. messy braid

As of today, the Marc Jacobs collection has just come out and it's a treasure trove of utilitarian clothing wares. I'm not sure yet how I feel about it but I do like it a lot. Calvin Klein's Spring/Summer 2015 collection is also amazing for being the usual classic Calvin Klein simplistic/minimalistic stuff. 

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

movie date

(photos by Jan Michelle Dumlao)

Right after Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno, which was awesome despite some modifications to the original storyline that were actually expected (condensing a 5-10 episodes of an arc of the anime [or manga] into one 3-hour movie is never easy), by the way, at the SM cinemas. Of course, some  fooling around at Dunkin Donuts and a bit of window shopping were done.

vintage/secondhand everything, shoes and necklace: forever21

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

sort-of boyfriend jeans


gifted Glo cropped jeans; hanes t; random bangles, sunglasses and rings; primadonna shoes; secondhand bag; wagw hat; f21 arrow and gifted K-pendant necklace, (not seen on photo); SM accessories  cross earrings

Ran an errand for mum then running more errands in the afternoon which includes stopping by the PRC office to get my teaching license renewed. Definitely loathing the sun today and changing into a pair of leggings to look even more unkempt before I head down to the mall to inquire about something, not so much as to shop as I haven't done that in eons now all the while wishing I were in a pair of denim shorts or something airier...like, maybe a skirt instead. Nothing's stopping me from dropping by the Robinsons' department store by Ayala Centrio today to check if they have any more basics like the baseball t I wanted for quite awhile now I could abuse almost daily, though so definitely something I'd do today.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

honey + sugar body scrub update


It's not only the wardrobe that has gone into a minimalist phase. Even on my everyday beauty products that I use in the shower and out, I've also gone natural. This means less usage of such products with chemicals that are difficult to decipher whether they are harmful or not, more of those with the natural, unharmful ingredients such as those from Human Heart Nature or Human Nature among others. If it's not the products of the said brand then I would play with stuff in the kitchen and those you can easily buy from the market to make products I can add to the daily beauty routine apart from concocting varieties of the green smoothies I now consume for breakfast or dinner almost daily. One such example is the honey and sugar body scrub I use that I have now updated with papaya and vitamin E oil. Or it could work with just papaya because you're in the shower anyway and oil and water do not mix so easily.

I'm not quite sure yet if using it does wonders for the skin because I've only started using it for a few weeks but it does have its good effects and it is quite an effective body scrub. What I do like about it is that it does not break the bank at all and everything for it is in the kitchen...or the market, whichever you prefer to get your ingredients from. Aside from that, this would even make a great gift to friends and family during Christmas or their birthdays and other such occasions. Just place it in a presentable, beautiful packaging and it's good to go as a home made, all-natural present they could really use.

I'm exploring a few more things I can make at home for beauty and health/wellness purposes and I think being a naturalista this way, making it a career as well as life, is becoming easier and more rewarding the longer I get more into making natural beauty, health and wellness products at home. Here's to my journey then on becoming a budding naturalista! 

Saturday, August 9, 2014

dreamcatcher

DIY sleeves-cut random shirt and denim cut-offs, Payless boots, thrifted Gucci bag, random dreamcatcher necklace (from Aizilim) and stacked F21 bangles 

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Jpop recc: White Jam

(image from http://www.cdbanq.com/White-Jam--Natsu-Nante-Japan-CD-UMCK-5478_p_157138.html)

Currently listening to this on a lazy Sunday afternoon after having gone to my younger brother's family day at the high school I graduated from. I'd rather really not remember much of my high school years because it was more boring than fun. It's a rather lazy Sunday we're having and I should probably be somewhere with a book to read by now. I have a few things to study before September comes around and I would be in Dumaguete City again by then to try to finish the Masters course.

White Jam music is pretty chill and 夏なんて (Natsu Nante) is one summer-perfect anthem. Listening to the whole single minus 夏なんて's karaoke version feels like watching a concert of theirs or listening to radio show though I only really understand a little of what they're saying. Skip and シロセ塾校歌 ~夏合宿Ver.~ feat.シロセ塾講師&塾生 are perfect for lazy afternoons. They're your typical chill music. They're even worth listening to at night, as you go to sleep.

I don't recall being this enthusiastic about urban/hiphop/rap, r&b music. It used to not really be my kind in the distant past but now I'm hugely into it which is kind of surprising. I guess, my being into this type of music is all thanks to Jpop...and Kreva for wonderful Japanese rap music which is completely different from the many western music of this kind I've come across with in the past (late 90's to early 2000s). It takes me awhile to warm up to a lot of new genres of music and new artists but with White Jam (and Vimclip and Da-iCE), getting into their music was quite easy. Much of theirs are pretty catchy and modern. I'm also currently digging into a lot of electronic dance music lately so that explains Vimclip and Da-iCE among others. (Calvin Harris, Avici, etc for western EDM.) 

(image from http://wowcdo.com/cdo-fiesta/higalaay-kagay-festival-2014-schedule-activities-higalaaycdo/)

August. It's that time of the year for us, Kagay-anons. So much festivities bu I'm probably only going to participate with the marathon, the 3K run one with dad if I can get him to sign up for it with me. It sounds fun. It also means I need to start training for it ASAP. I'm also thinking of watching the fashion shows lined up from August 8-10. We'll see. 2014 looks like a fine time for the fiesta or something. I haven't been home for the last one but I'm here now so might as well get to it.

Friday, August 1, 2014

Managing


Hi! I have yet to fall off the edge of the earth but I haven't. I'm going back to my nomadic life by September (next month) to finally finish my thesis and graduate by March this 2014-2015 school year. More beach trips are also being planned including one on my birthday---probably just an overnight trip.
What have I been up to recently? Hmn...about 2-3 weddings---none of them are mine, I enjoy my freedom too much to think about ever getting tied down and settle down like the rest of the world does at this age---and an alumni homecoming event in our local Xavier Estates Sports and Country Club House which also isn't mine but my dad's and uncle's. I hardly attend these events though I've graduated from college and high school long ago.

Random shoot thanks to my younger brother and some photobooth fun was had last Sunday. Then I had to do something about the state of the stuffiness of the bedroom. It now looks like the bedroom of an undergraduate college student away from home despite missing the clothes rack I'm having made to compensate for the small built in closet I have. It's not enough to house all my clothes, really and I don't even have that much. At least, without the huge computer table I hardly use as I perch myself in the smaller one on most days, it's less stuffier now in the bedroom. Oh and of course, more light!


(my photos)
wearing: gifted black dress, forever21 boots, forever21 necklace, secondhand Anne Taylor Loft hoodie, gifted ninewest red clutch  

P.S.
I'm officially pescetarian. I've been living on green smoothies in the mornings and sometimes, the evenings or lunch time. If it's not that then at least it's a salad or some seafood. So...yay! That's one step away from becoming vegan, I guess. I'll get there soon.  

Saturday, March 15, 2014

momentary happiness


Cross-posted from my tumblr just because...

I'll try to be productive today while listening to this one over and over...or at least stare at this MV for the nth time since yesterday? Or not...that would be creepy but it happens sometimes, lol. Also sort of obsessed with Hanamura Sota, that cute redhead <3 ....and you don't want to know how many times the play button has been abused. On the upside, it's keeping me from getting depressed again or at least momentarily. 

The depression's mild or I think it is but it happens so frequently not only do I find it annoying but...well, it's annoying. I'm probably just burnt out from work, thinking about life and trying to finish my thesis. Applying for another job post of the same thing was clearly what drew this one on. Did I really think I can juggle three jobs at once? Nope, I was just mental these past few days. Thing is, I don't even need to be under the influence of anything like drugs or alcohol to be in this state. I'm someone who can mess up anything so easily without any unhealthy vice I find them unnecessary (I only drink socially and that means really rarely these days). It's mostly work-related problems getting to me so meh. :\

Yep, I'm a Jfangirl and there's no shame in being one. Fandom and being excessively into it is probably my one and only not-so-healthy vice. I'm a boring person. LOL. 

I hardly open things up about these so consider it a snippet on what goes on with me sometimes.

Just a thought: I, at times, feel the need to disconnect from society in general (including the interweb) and all the clutter life throws my way. Times like these help me sort out my thoughts, priorities and others. It's like going on a personal retreat of some sort. Now, I have a handful of really good friends and some decent acquaintances but I find it a luxury if I can have time to recollect in silence, preferably somewhere where no soul knows or recognizes me. I only feel lonely sometimes but it does help me start fresh over the next few days. There was a time back when I was in high school and early college when I can handle pressure really well but now, it's just not the case anymore. I keep having the need to compensate for every moment I put a little of myself out to the public. The upside of such a habit is that it keeps me from self-destructing which is something I'm not to put off in the near future, I keep thinking it will happen anyhow. Right now, I just keep being amazed how I can pull through much, much later on. I've always been the life-loving kind---never was suicidal or close to it, also it'd really be a waste of time and life if I or anyone else I know were---as I have been since a child, so self-destruction only means taking time off from things for me. So right now, before I pick up where I left off in terms of work and stuff, I'm taking this time to recharge my batteries and just listen to the music.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

JMagazine: Vivi

photos from vivi c/o Zasshiko, collage by me

I've always been a big fan of Japan's Vivi for all the photos they can place in one page of the magazine. Every page looks so productive and inspiring that I don't really mind at all if it looks a bit cluttered. And as of the recent issues that came out this year and last year, my top favorite Vivi models are Reina Treindl and Lena Fujii. I'm, at the moment, acquainting myself with the rather new Vivi models like Maggy, Sara Mary and Elli-Rose among others but it's just really such fun to flip through every page even when I only have that one copy from from two years ago during spring/winter season. 

What's really nice, what I really like about Vivi rather is that most of those on the pages can be found on Runway-Webstore, my favorite destination for all things Japanese fashion. They've really got interesting things there. Also, there's the fact that AAA's Uno Misako got me into Emoda...well...that can't really be changed. There are other labels that are just as interesting as Emoda, there, too. It's nice to see that there are a lot more labels selling their stuff there today when there were so few of them two years ago or so. 

In other news, I'm making myself busy with reading, studying and writing my Masters thesis. My target is to finish the thing by May then present it from June-October. I've also been sending some applications here and there for part time writing gigs. All these done in between thinking of what to post on an almost-daily basis if you notice I'd religiously done so last week before missing another two days of posting days. Hey, it was the weekend! Just so you know...I never had anything done that time, too except run on Saturday then read and attempt to finish some work on Sunday.
 

Saturday, March 8, 2014

sailor shorts


Just got back from a rewarding night run by the local Sports Center's oval/track and posting these that were just taken earlier.

secondhand gap shirt, f21 shorts, payless ankle boots, random bracelets and necklaces

Friday, March 7, 2014

not a vest, possibly not an armor either


This vest thing once had a fringe I cut off before donning it on. This'll probably the closest thing I can get to dressing like a female from the west.

....and I am getting ice cream now.
jeans cutoffs, secondhand wifebeater, thrifted vest...thing/top, forever21 wedges, bangle from a Dumaguete City souvenir shop

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

dreamlike


The fun thing about working from home is I get to play dress-up on some days I get tired of writing and writing and thinking whatever else to write about. Such is the case with this one.

I've had the top along with another dreamy, wispy 2-way top from the Japanese brand, Emoda since around December last year, if I recall correctly. I acquired both by way of Runway-Webstore. Both were purchased around July. Emoda is basically black and white basics and dreamy, wispy heaven. I have yet to find events to wear them in so I settled for trying one of them out this afternoon in between writing tasks with a deadline tonight (*gasp* I hope I finish it on time!). The best way this one is probably worn out in is with the lacy bustier-y bra top from WAGW I got a year ago or so. It was a lucky find and quite useful even when just lounging around---no wire, no padding whatsoever. Just oh, so utterly comfortable. Shorts aren't so noticeable but they are there.


shopwagw leather(ette?) shorts and lace bra top; Emoda top; Primadonna wedges