zalora 2021 christmas wishlist

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I usually get something from Zalora Philippines this time of the year but as I'm still on a job hunt for any writing gig I can get that pays well, I might have to pass this year's purchase for some other time instead. 

The best time to shop at Zalora is usually the last two months of the year and the first two months of the following year. It has to do with their consecutive sales during those four months. I've saved a lot from those sales and still somehow continue to save as much whenever I shop from them from time to time when I need to.

....or actually, this may be because I haven't really decided yet which among the dresses below I'd really, REALLY like to get this year: yellow cami dresses with lace details in floral print and/or pale yellow that look so close to slipdresses I'm forever obsessed with or the ditzy flower print dress that's super cute and reminds me of 2008-2009 Luella...

....and they are on sale, too, so...hmn...let me mull over it for a bit for now...

So anyway, here are some things I have in mind from Zalora tonight that just...can't seem to get out of my head until I make that one...single dress or shoe purchase I may very much need or something:

from left to right: tie front cami mini dress in blackbase florals; lace trim mini dress in yellow floral; basic asymmetric frill sleeveless dress in beige (this is also available in a really very dainty, pretty pink color that I like and if I could, I'd get both. haha); eyelet shirt dress in off white; cami mini dress in yellow floral; lace trim mini dress in pale yellow; cotton eyelet babydoll dress in white. All of these are from the same Zalora line, Zalora Basics.

Some runner up dresses I'm also thinking about from the same line but for some reason, they never made the cut because they're not much what I have in mind tonight: low back column dress in lemon yellow (hurrah! I can finally into midis? I guess...?); knot front eyelet dress in blush (probably the first kind of puffed around the sleeves dress I'm into...I still get too intimidated by puffed sleeves among dresses most of the time for some reason so...);  cami eyelet swing dress in yellow; crisscross cut out rib bodycon dress in blue/pink (this one looks good and looks different from my usual style...colors, especially because it combines my favorite color with pink, something I'm seeing myself wearing more of because...you know...if you'd been following or had read my last blog entry, you'd know...also, this is an elevated classic I definitely would not want to miss out on if I had money to spend on this and more because just regular tshirt dresses, however much I love them and would love to have more of them in my closet...err...wardrobe, are getting a tad bit boring lately); broderie crossover back mini dress in off white (I definitely don't mind an intricate looking but bare and sexy back detail with mostly just the strings and all that put the dress altogether); shortsleeves dress in cream/multi (it's leopard print/animal print, of course and I don't have a lot of that in my closet/wardrobe...I don't mind having some of this one as this shirtdress looks pretty cool); blouson cami mini dress in off white (it's dainty-looking and I feel it would look fine as an everyday dress or something)

Yellow is a shade I'm lately super into. My attachment to it started last year. I might have to blame this one on my being in a tropical country all my life and that fact that this pandemic and string of lockdowns has me missing the beach and the pool so much lately. Last year...or I think it was two years ago...? I can't remember anymore... I was able to get two yellow pieces from Zalora I may have to debut here one day. One is a cami, the other is a tshirt dress (and you know I'm just as very much obsessed with tshirt and tank shirt dresses as with everything else I gush about on this blog. lol) with a knotted front detail that's pretty cute and cozy to wear everywhere. Even my grandma loved that one when I wore it to help around the house, the kitchen and all in Jasaan around Christmas and New Years' day last year. Other than those two, I also got 1 cute babydoll from Essentiel Manila back when they still had their own website. Those three get some wear every now and then so I will definitely debut them here on the blog sometime soon, yes. 

It's not just the yellows but I also get intrigued by orange or more specifically, rust these days. I normally prefer the neutral colors but yay to me getting into colors and fun prints, finally! I think my wardrobe's contents have finally made me bored it doesn't have a lot of bright colors so I'm currently into them now. I definitely get attracted by neon bright colors when it comes to accessories and wish there were more of them everywhere but alas...I can't even find underwear in that color that can spruce up any dull outfit I have in mind that's mostly a tank and a pair of shorts or some oversized men's trousers. Ugh. Well...bye dull wardrobe and hello, more colorful wardrobe, I guess? Yep, definitely.

It's nice and good and fun to be experimental sometimes, and just super random when it comes to dressing up. 

So yes, a ton of yellows... The pale yellow one is really good to look at here and looks very, very cute. Just the right amount of romantic with the lace in there that reminds me of Pretty Baby's girls. Have you seen that Brooks Shield film? It's so, sooo good to the eyes. I love all the romantic female fashion and classic American male fashion in there. The film might have put Brooks Shield on the radar for being the youngest female star to be exploited by Hollywood but oh...the outfits... I don't know how to describe that film and their wardrobe but I'm SO in love with it. I've only seen parts of it and screen capped my favorite outfits from there and posted and spazzed about them on my fandom twitter, @kg_0917, awhile back but I'll definitely set aside time to watch that film in full one weekend I have nothing much to do. We just went off tangent talking randomly about Pretty Baby. Lol. It's a decent 1978 movie about women and children in brothels in the state of Louisiana in the US and for the characters' outfits a lone, I think, is one movie worth watching at least once. And so going back to the dresses I'm stuck with due to details, color, design or make and all...the ditzy print dress really reminds me of old school Luella (2008-2009 as mentioned earlier above). 2008-2009 is definitely a good year for Luella and the ditzy flower print and all the very pretty details in the line's dresses. Ugh. 

This is just one line from Zalora, Zalora Basics, and I already know I'm not going to other lines just see more dresses, tops and more I may like. I browsed through the tops from the same line and they have really interesting ones, too. Definitely check those out, as well, if they're your thing. 

Let's go into the shoes. We'll touch up a bit more on the shades of yellow and the romantic, cute style as we go towards the end of this post later so read on!

A pair of these Steve Madden Valiant S High Heels scream NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY ALL NIGHT LONG!!! It's only available now in size 6.5. *sob*

I just heard the national evening news on TV tonight say doctors, medical experts are currently studying the new variant of the novel corona virus from South Africa. I suppose this means we're still not allowed to gather in big numbers for New Year's Eve parties right? Oh well... 

This is way above my budget anyway and I wouldn't want to spend so much on a pair of shoes I see myself wearing only once a year so being unable to afford and get this isn't much of a problem for me. Heh. I can think of better ways to spend my money should I have any this end of the year and early next year than on these shoes, really...

Oh wow, oh wow. Ninewest bringing back the sexy slingback pumps...I see...: the really pretty Emry slingback pumps (middle) in dark red, the Holly3 Slingback Pumps in black and dark natural that aren't really that bad either. They're sooo pretty and very classic I'm sooo in love with them rn and there're only 1 pair in my size available for all 3. *sobs* Lucky are the ones to snag these three in 7 and 7.5. *cries*

I feel like a truck hit me. Slingback pumps, Nine West via Zalora, really? Ugh. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. YES! They're a definitely must have! I'd like to have at least one of these three but I'm too broke so lucky, indeed, are the ones who gets to have these in 7 and 7.5 that's just my size. /cries. If I hadn't checked on Zalora tonight, I wouldn't have seen that slingback pumps are back as per Nine West's dictate. It's amazing that they have a lot of these released all at the same time so ladies get a nice selection of them. They're really such beauties! The croc pattern...ugh. How beautiful is the Emry slingback pumps in dark red here? Just...HOW?

If I had enough money to spend on any one of these right now, I wouldn't hesitate to get a pair. They're around 3, 500 Php but ugh! Their versatility. /cries. I can just imagine how really pretty a pair would go with any of the dresses, shorts and top, skirts and top combinations I have in my head right now. There may be no occasion yet to wear this shoes to but for someone like me who likes to dress up randomly...ugh. These, especially the Emry in dark red, are everything. I'm a firm believer that shoes maketh an outfit so I always, always am quite unapologetic when I impulsively spend on a pair of shoes like this that I know will go well with anything about everything in my wardrobe.

My very depressing broke-ness makes me weep as I see all these pretty things dissipate before my very eyes...with every visit I do on their pages to check their availability. I stalk those I really like as frequently as possible, yes. 

Anyway, to keep myself (ourselves) from crying due to the prices of the things on here and especially in Zalora, here's a more affordable version of the ones above: the Alberto women's shoes Amy 20S M11996D12 pair of lower heeled slingback pumps in black and in the same croc pattern. These have lower heels than the ones above but I don't mind. If they're for everyday use, working from home, them I yeah, I think they're worth getting. I just usually prefer heels to be quite high. Sky high. They're more fun that way. lol.

....and some other shoes that caught my attention before I got stuck on the slingback pumps above...:

Some others that caught my eye before Ninewest's croc patterned slingback pumps distracted me (from left to right): Betsy Bianca Heels in dark beige, Mango snake printed heeled shoes and the asymmetric stiletto shoes in brown, and the Ninewest Holly Slingback Pumps in leather black.

Betsy, Betsy, Betsy. Wow. This brand that Zalora carries is impressing me right now in terms of design. They're edgy and really pretty. And you know I like edgy and gothic at times...in healthy doses, I mean. I missed the oxfords platform heels trend of the 2000s so it's super rad to me that the Bianca heels in beige and other neutral, bad ass colors of it exist in this time period. In Zalora. Like the slingback pumps above I'm so in love with right now, I don't mind having a pair of this in the shoe shelf to wear with any romantic and dainty dresses in there or the yellow ones with lace details above. These in beige and black would go well with anything. ANYTHING.

And speaking of the edge Betsy seems to have going on with their collection this season, let me direct your attention to their bags...ooh!!! The studs in them are to die for. They remind me of Alexander Wang back when his designs were better and the shiz between 2008 and 2009.  Seriously, other than the really cool 90s (because I was an angsty teenager then and until now so...), I'd bring back 2008 and 2009 for really pretty, cool, rad and all fashion trends. Ugh. Betsy. Even their, what looks to me to be a cross between Doc Martens (Docs) and some other, the Jayleen boots, are to die for. It's out in my size now, though, so...boohoo. 

I've mentioned every semblance of 'to die for' twice in the paragraph right above this one so...let's just say that's how Betsy from Zalora's collection makes me feel right now. Dramatic. Dark. Angsty. Just the right amount of edge that brings me back to my middle and late teens when I was all about ghosts, the supernatural and stuff and now I'm re-obsessing myself with Edgar Allan Poe's short tales of terror and still continue to reread Bram Stoker's Dracula 'til I bore of it so...yeah. Dark is pretty. Dangerous is pretty. ....much in the same way all that glitters, all that's shiny and pristine, angelic white and fun yellows are pretty. Yes.

And...that's that. So let's move onto the bags I've been talking about earlier then:

A lot of edge with (from L-R): Nine West's Torin Convertible Crossbody Bag in black; Betsy's Vera Sling Bag in black it's also available in red right here; Betsy's Celia Shoulder Bag in black and it's also available in brown right here; Betsy's Aniyah Top Handle Bag in black, it's also available in gray right here; and Lowrys Farm's Crocodile Textured Crossbody Bag in black which is also available in brown and white right here.

Oh. I didn't expect Lowrys Farm to be in Zalora but it is. 

It's actually a Japanese brand I'm a tiny bit familiar with thanks to Cancam, a Japanese fashion magazine I have 1 one copy of in my shelf here at home from my last trip to the US. The stop over was Tokyo on the way to and from the US so I got to shop some mags at some shops in Narita aiport way back very late 2015 and early 2016. I'm pretty sure this brand is in Cancam because I remember it's a different set of JP brands for ViVi. Cancam concentrates on casual and formal career woman style while ViVi often veers towards the more fun, experimental girl style which resonates more with me than Cancam's for some reason. Japanese fashion mags...they're really fun to have and they have freebies too, from time to time, so they're worth spending some 300+ JPY plus shipping over. Pro-tip, use FromJapan or some other third party shipping for them to save costs.

Japanese brands, I feel, have been, slowly, ever so, so, slowly trickling into South East Asia via Zalora. I know of one aside from Uniqlo, that has made it over here completely through that massive South East Asian online shopping mall, Desigual. They have pretty cool bags and rad, soooo much fun shoes, too. Their stuff is usually a bit way out of my price range in terms of affordability but they're worth checking out, still, if you like the Japanese street style look often seen in the streets of Harajuku. I'm more of a cross between the Ginza and Shibuya fashionista type so...yeah. If you followed tokyo streetstyle, you'd know what I'm onto here. Apparently, I just checked, they're still up and running. I like to look into their posts, especially during the spring and summer seasons for outfit inspiration sometimes. Or...I'm sometimes just there to gawk at how well dressed men and women, girls and boys there are because I just can't...ever...for some reason. Lol.

Anyway, I'm a huge fan of Japanese fashion. I already mentioned I love the fashion mag, Vivi, and I have several issues of it in my bedroom to prove it so yes, I'm all here for Zalora bringing in more clothing, shoes, bags and accessories brands from Japan that's not just Uniqlo. Seriously, Japanese style is more than just Uniqlo. I love the cute styles in Runway Webstore a lot that are always featured in Vivi. Emoda and sometimes, Mercury Duo often brings the pretty styles for me from clean and crisp, a bit edgy to really, very girly you can mess up with a bit of edge or some quirkiness here and there. I think the most I liked from Uniqlo, compared to that one, Runway Webstore, is their Sailormoon tshirt limited edition line. I know they've been doing other anime lines after that but a good friend of mine who's now in very sunny and tropical Tahiti has a Sailormoon shirt from that line and I fell in love with that one for a bit until my best friend from Davao City nearby-ish alerted me that OXGN also came out with a Sailormoon tee collection and...well, OXGN is local so it's waaayy more affordable than Uniqlo's, of course, and I'd definitely have preferred that over Uniqlo any day. I'm a huge fan of Sailormoon, especially the manga and the new anime, Sailormoon Crystal, that very closely follows the manga so yeah. That explains why I'm into a lot of things Sailormoon, including shirts. Haha. I'm not too into animes anymore but if you are, OXGN has a line for Hunter x Hunter now and the volleyball sports anime, Haikyuu!! so gooo and get those if they are your thing! They're pretty cool. I do like Hunter x Hunter, yes. Togashi Yoshihiro, the mangaka (manga artist/creator in Japanese) for it, is married to Sailormoon's mangaka, Takeuchi Naoko so that explains that. This OXGN shirt with the huge Hisoka print is calling my name right now but I'm too broke to afford anything yet so...nope. I'm currently happy with the BtoB Eunkwang shirts I got from Shopee last week so I'm okay passing on this one. (If you're an anime weabo or something, don't be afraid to say hi to me here or on twitter! I'm still mildly interested in animes but not as intensely as I used to...way, waaayyy back I was in high school, going into very early college.)

I do own some Lowrys Farm stuff. I recall I have a pair of shorts somewhere in my closet with that brand that I thrifted a while back in Dumaguete City or some other but I browsed through their offerings here in the Philippines on that massive shopping site and nothing really captivated me much outside of the bags I featured and linked y'all to here. A lot of their clothes are for winter right now and the weather or climate here isn't cold enough to warrant any and all of us into buying and owning some of those they have for sale there so...yeah. I'll pass. I hope they have some fun and cool spring/summer offerings for next year, though!

Other things I have in mind that are from the accessories section are:

from L-R: this black printed twist headband from Waikiki LC; this brown niko and... wrap headband; this big ribbon clip in light pink from joystyx; this Miraycia ribbon hairclip in light pink from Aldo and this is infinitely cheaper than the former, too; really super cute and fun patchwork super scrunchie from Rubi; Rubi's super scrunchie in dusty pink; oh my bag's oversized scrunchies satin in peach...it's not in pink. lol; HAWKERS frozen nude rose gold SUNSET sunglasses for men and women, it's suuuupper pretty!; and Aldo's pretty cool Ceram Sunglasses in pink! 

Aldo's Ceram sunglasses seems to be calling me to it along with animal print headwrap because I've never owned a headwrap my whole life and I think I ought to have one of those fun things. Ugh.

SO MUCH PINK! It's basically pink overload down here. I don't wear a lot of pink so I don't mind any of these for #KakamPinkWednesdays on my twitters and instagram. I only have so few pink ts in the wardrobe so what I lack in clothing, I would cover for with accessories. It would be cool if there were neon pink bras with no underwire too, bralettes! I'd be down for those, yes.

No jewelry this time. I'll look into that some other time. Maybe in a another post. I only really get stuff from Bagel Girl in SM Downtown Premiere now because they have some cheapie stuff that are very affordable for those with low budget on stuff like me and also, Aizilim in Cogon Market that I like to go to from time to time, too, so yeah. It would be nice to browse Zalora for these, too though. Definitely look into those when you can, too!

And that concludes what I think the most about from Zalora so far. Heh. Quite a long post. I feel like a lot of posts lately are super long anyway so yeah, no matter. It's still a post after a short while of no posting at all (2 days, yes? Yes).

Oh and bonus! I almost forgot this one because I was browsing around French Connection on Zalora and the wares there are MIGHTY pricey I can't afford any of them but somehow, I got stuck on this thing:

Alto Rosanna Drape Dress, French Connection

Something about the shapelessness of this dress just gets me as I have one or a few similar to it in the wardrobe. I don't think I'll ever be over my shapeless dresses, oversized ts and sweaters or jumpers, sweatshirts, everything phase, yeah. It must be how freeing they feel like and breezy and airy they are when you wear them with stuff...hmn...

*****

So how should we call this selection of mine from Zalora before the year ends, hmn...?

Some of it, especially the lace trimmed slipdress-like cami dresses are inspired by the romantic style in the movie, Pretty Baby, with the very, VERY young Brooke Shields, indeed. Luella 08-09 for the ditzy floral print mini dress with ribbon or tie detail around the neck and the rest are either sleek and classy (the sexy slingback pumps, to be exact, the ones from Ninewest, mostly) and edgy and dark and tough (Betsy's). 

to rename it or not to rename it? that is the question

 

old red wristlet/clutch, Ninewest; old heels, Primadonna (they just gave up on me yesterday but probably nothing a rugby could fix or a quick trip to the shoe fixers or so; old shorts, Mags Ph/Cagayan de Oro City; tank top, thrifted; old wristlet pouch, Coach; bracelets and rings, a mix of Aizilim CdeO & Bagel Girl in SM Downtown CdeO Premier; earrings, shesells.cdo on instagram; headband, f21)

Yesterday.

At the moment, I'm thinking about renaming this blog to something related to pink as it's something I'm wearing a lot of lately in support of something and someone. It, ofc, has to do with the incoming National Elections of my country, the Philippines, next year. I'm turning this blog into one that chronicles my wearing pink in tiny, digestible doses because pink is a color that I can only ever get into, in certain shades (old rose; blush; rose gold; sometimes neon or bright or hot pink when I feel like the outfit of the day's too dull; dusty pink) or in bits and pieces of accessories like jewelry, bags and some others.

Some random, additional photos from my phone I posted on Twitter yesterday for a closer glimpse at all the pink details glory. My phone takes really good photos. It's a Samsung A21s and I'm glad I randomly bought a tripod for it like I did my camera awhile back on Lazada Philippines! Not the best tripods but well, they're alright.

Either way, I've already sealed my fate in as last night, I ended up ordering fuchsia pink face masks in 50s for going out. They're the regular surgical 3-ply kind I'm keeping to myself so there's that. Now that I think of it, I should've bought 2 boxes or packs because it seems my family is also on board with this same someone I'm supporting into the 2022 National Elections here in the Philippines. Yeah, I should've bought two boxes, one for myself, one for my family. Maybe next time. The other two boxes I got were the regular blue ones. A darker shade of blue and also a bit brighter than the tame one I usually get of the regular surgical masks for a day or two's going out in a week or so. Anyway, next time, I'm getting 2-3 boxes of the fuchsia pink kind and sharing it with everyone here at home. Haha.

*****

I haven't been feeling like taking much photos lately. I'd chalked it up to the pandemic shutting us all in but it's done so much more than just that, to be honest. In my case, it's made me sooo unmotivated to do anything else other than eat, try to survive and not even do anything else sooo active so it may be why I feel so fat lately and do not feel like taking pictures of outfits and all, at all these days. Anyone else feeling this way? Unmotivated and uninspired? And also, still scared of contracting the virus even when one's already fully vaccinated with a booster shot on the way? I've just been fully vaccinated some time ago and I still feel the same.

It's why I'm thankful that we get the opportunity here to support someone and her progressive platform and advocacies into PH National Elections 2022. It gives me an excuse to dress up and wear bits and pieces of pink on what we call #KakamPinkWednesdays and any other days we get to wear something pink out. It's like, I can finally style some things again, yay? And I just also ordered some of her supporters' merch I'm excited about debuting here, too, among other things. I'm going to fix them first once I receive them in the mail because I have a specific plan for the shirt especially. 

*****

I definitely did not mean to drop off the face of the earth after one post a week or two ago. The thing is that I also tend to two other blogs after this one and I have a lot of unfinished drafts in all three and a lot of my time, I tend to spend more on the blue bird app instead or browsing instagram shops especially those selling secondhand, thrifted stuff because I feel like there's really not much else to do anyway. I'm also still writing some fanfiction I doubt I'll ever finish...in the Jimmy Neutron universe ish because I really am turning into a huge fan or shipper of Jimmy and Cindy so... Yeah, those things, I'm keeping myself busy with, lately. 

I also have a discord server now, Chill Out Space, and there's a Halloween event going on there no one's biting yet. It's a ghost stories and such sharing event there that later will culminate with an online Halloween costume party because, really, we're all still stuck at home anyway so...yeah. Yep, It's not that I'm slacking off. Well, partly, it's that. I'm mostly procrastinating. LOL. But yeah, I'm keeping myself busy lately.

Yay to another post on how to wear pink stuff next week? I'll try to vary things where this goes.

About fitness, I've taken to going back to doing long walks around the city, especially the city center at least once every week or every 2 weeks or so. I feel like it's the least I can do though I do think about doing jump rope once in a while. Hopefully I can establish an exercise or workout regimen I can do almost daily or so before I go back to doing work I can earn from. Teaching in the public school is the plan and so are temporary writing, editing, proofreading gigs on Upwork that pays so let's see... I really need a more balanced lifestyle soon. Hopefully.

PS

I'm officially naming this weekly post a how to wear pink and have pink stuff around you series. I'm more of a fan of dull colors and especially blue so this is new...ish. If I want brighter colors, pink isn't it for me, I lately am into a lot of yellow, rust and some orange so there's that too. 

what am I holding on to?

ribbed tube dress, zalora basics; heels, primadonna; red clutch, ninewest; black tiny pouch, coach; necklace/choker, forever21 (old); bracelets/arm bangles, mix of forever21 and dumaguete city and siquijor island souvenir shops'; rings, random and mostly from Bagel Girl in SM Downtown Premier CdeO

New tube dress to play with? It actually goes well with like, A LOT of things like the denim vest from Old Navy I'm currently wearing as I type this. Not really regretting that I carted this Zalora Basics piece upon coming across it browsing around the site. I'm currently devising other ways to wear this out and about in my right now.

Meanwhile, new kicks from Primadonna via Zalora. Yay!

It's on sale so I just had to. 799.something Php is a good price already and warranted another pair costing around 699.something Php so yep, the most AWESOME DEAL so far! The tiny skin showing around the bottom part of the bandagey part of this pair disturbs me but I think it'll be fixed with a pair of black socks. I'm counting on this pair to mix well with trousers or pants and jeans I very rarely wear, though. So I'm expect about that prospect too. I'll test that theory out one day soon. Hmn...

Boring few weeks so far but trying to hold on because the new corona virus outbreak certainly IS making a mess of a lot of things at this time. Well, it's boring and slightly not so boring lately because I have a best friend's simple, hopefully super pretty, civil wedding to help with slated in April 26 so yes, there's a bit of cheer to be had amidst this crazy time spent mostly at home or so. I'm looking forward to this one as I'd been, for the first time, named the maid of honor. Hmn...I'm still grappling in the dark with how to do this. I think I'll live? I hope. First off, it's time to go dress hunting! 

currently listening to: Already Love - Great Good Fine Ok

Hmn...I'm currently tempted to get 3 CDs from here but sorely disappointed that the latest one is only in vinyl. Can there be a CD release for GGFOUR? Ugh.

february 26, wednesday post's details

clutch, ninewest. necklace as bracelet and another bracelet, gifted by grandmum and aunt. large and thick or bulky-chained necklace, forever21. phone, samsung j2 prime. ring/s, bagel girl via sm downtown premier.

Late catch-up post. I was supposed to post this last Friday or yesterday but I got too lazy. Saturday was a particularly lazy day and night for me. I wasn't even able to write anything good in terms of fanfiction I have in the works and mostly just did so a bit then slept. Anyway, these are stuff I have on repeat recently.

wayfarers from Bench Ph. Ninewest clutch. Samsung J2 Prime. Human Heart Nature's Natural Sanitizer in Cool Burst. 

Also a few others I can't live without right now. Hand sanitizers are a fast sell right now everywhere because of the COVID 19 outbreak. It's the same here in the Philippines. We may only have very few COVID 19 cases yet with 1 death (this one isn't even a Filipino or Philippines' national) but still, people are clearing shelves of everything sanitizing alcohol, sanitizer and other anti-bacterial, anti-viral substances that can be used on the hands and other body parts and even varying surfaces at home and out. Luckily, I was able to snatch this small, 50 mL bottle of the Natural Sanitizer in Cool Burst. Word at the branch I got this from is that their sanitizers are also all sold out and they were lucky to get this one in a decent number around sometime last week. Week after next, I'm looking to stock up on the 200 mL kind in both Cool Burst and Pomelo Burst. If you'd like to order anything of the sort, whether in 200 mL or 50 mL bottles, you can put your orders through here. For Metro Manila and NCR orders, they do deliver at a minimum of 500 Php worth of purchases. You can also email me at the contact details on this blog or send a text message to the number given occasionally on this instagram account. I cannot accept calls from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. due to work but I can receive and respond to text messages well. Meet ups around Cagayan de Oro City are available, of course!

Anyway, yes. Let's keep ourselves clean and clear of viruses and some harmful bacteria this year! We ought to be wary of COVID 19 since it's literally spreading everywhere now and the numbers just keep adding up. That all said, I'm proud of our DOH and other local authorities rounding up some foreign visitors who have come in from highly infected areas (like Daegu in South Korea) and labeling them PUMs (persons under monitoring). Some 26 were in Cebu City and another 11 were in Boracay. This is a day before the travel ban put into place. This was a very quick response, yay! 

2020 wanderland festival dreaming

dress, zalora basics. heels, primadonna via zalora. clutch, ninewest. chunky chain necklace, forever21. necklace as bracelet and layered bracelet, gifted by grandmum and aunt. rings, new acquisition from bagel girl at SM Downtown Premier 

This is what I imagine myself wearing to the 2020 Wanderland Music Festival in the vast collection of cities up north, NCR. I think they're holding the said event somewhere in Quezon City. Originally, I thought March 7 was the final showdown between one of my favorite local indie bands, Sansette, and the Sundown. It turns out that the competition has ended and the privilege of joining the Wanderland Festival lineup was given to the Sundown. Well, end of story, I missed to support Sansette last February 1. Oh well... Sansette is having their music video launch for Sunburn on the 28th, though! I wish I could be there but yes, if you're in Cebu City and you're going then I hope y'all have fun in there and enjoy the good music they play! Their music is sooooo fun and at the same time chill I just adopted their entry to Wanderbattle here as my personal theme song: 

It's title is Sinking and it's so chill in terms of beats and music mixing and arrangement, you won't know it actually talks about depression, sadness and/or melancholy that comes when the summer ends. Needless to say, I have this on repeat at the moment. I've put it on repeat when I do stuff at work at least. LOL. It's...addicting somehow and lyrically, it just speaks to me perfectly. Definitely a track I would keep on loop when summer ends and autumn, winter settles in, yes. I'm the quintessential summer child who just cannot live without summer, beach, the pool, sand and sea, coconuts and more. Basically...an islander for life.

Anyway, more about this dress? It's almost gone! It's now only available in medium gray. It's SUCH A MAGNIFICENT basic though. As expected of one of my favorite Zalora brands, Zalora Basics. Since it's still quite a tad bit cold tonight, I can imagine this dress shrunk in by an oversized sweater which I seem to amass in multitudes as well as of late. The french striped Forever21 purchase also from Zalora from the end of last year is the latest addition. I know I have a few of the same kind, from Uniqlo and others, thrifted randomly lying around somewhere though. Watch me wear this one as a comfy lounge piece from now on, yes. It'll be a constant thing as it's just sooo wearable despite it being bodycon and super fitted to the form. It's still adequately breathable worn in. 

Life moves on. I might really have to go down to the dentist sometime this week and next week for a quick fix on a fragmented tooth at the back of the mouth. It's causing me discomfort at the moment as it's quite inflamed? And it hurts when touched from the cheeks alone. Wanderbattle Cebu City leg is done for, since February 1, and out the window anyway. I'll just keep tabs on Sansette and my other favorite, Sepia Times, as well as Mandaue Nights, until further notice. Mandaue Nights is actually the only one of three I haven't seen live. I've seen both Sepia Times and Sansette last December 2019 at Chingkeetea. It was my first time to see Sansette and I liked them from the get-go hence why, a while ago, I was raring to go and support them at the Wanderbattle Cebu City finals thinking this was in March 7 still and not the past February 1. 

In other news, I'm still forever waiting my Zalora package to come in the mail among a few others. This...wait... I hope it'll end soon.

Speaking of music festivals...how about you? Would you attend Wanderland Festival this year? They had good lineups way back but this isn't really my thing as it's in NCR and NCR for me can be super stressful especially with traffic and all. I've been eyeing the Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival for the longest time now, admittedly. It used to be in Puerto Galera which is paradise, by the way. Now it's relocated to Quezon City in NCR. Hmn...

overdue since last friday

skirt, zalora; heels, sofab via zalora; clutch, ninewest; ribbed tank, terranova; rings, and heart shaped necklace, from a random shop called Aizilim; necklace as bracelet and choker (from aeropostale, iirc), gifted by aunts

Bought this skirt last year because one day, I'd come to realize I've been putting the same skirts on repeat to work. Needless to say, the wrap around detail and the buckle made me get it aside from the fact that it was on sale at Zalora. Also, did anyone get the memo they're carrying Forever21 stuff now? I just got a sweater that's about one or two sizes larger than I am from there last year. Cool stuff! 

As for the tank...this was a quick purchase from Terranova in Lim Ket Kai Mall. It's my favorite of all Cagayan de Oro malls, I guess? They often have sales but because my budget is often not enough for clothes that my closet is begging me for, I just thank the heavens they are often on sale. Best time to go? End of the year sales or so. I was there last year, a few times, and this in two colors, black and the white one worn here and 2 spaghetti strapped tanks in white and the lightest of grays were bought at near 200 Php each. I basically spent around just 700 Php or so max for four pieces there at the time. That said Terranova has fun things from time to time. I love Forever21 and some of H&M but Terranova has just as good, if not better deals locally so it's worth going there, too? If one doesn't want to buy thrifted clothes for the cold for an overseas winter trip to a cold country here, you can easily count on Terranova to supply you with wintry needs here instead! It's convenient and quite, pocket or budget friendly.

This was supposed to be posted yesterday among a few others but yesterday, I was:

• streaming a concert of my current favorite idol (an understatement because I'm utterly insane about/for him rn?), Infinite's Kim Sunggy...all the while live tweeting at the same time
• gorging on an 11" vegetarian pizza from my current favorite pizza joint that sells a large variety of pizza (most being meaty so they're not entirely vegetarian friendly and not even THAT vegan friendly...I doubt they accept customized orders as I haven't tried to ask cheese taken off of my orders...yet), Alberto's. They deliver! It makes pizza nights in with just music and working away on the computer all the more peaceful and smooth, no hitches at all! Also, their pizzas aren't really expensive either, just good for the local Kagay-anon budget, yay!

Fandom got me preoccupied as usual, of course. I gotta lay low on spending so much on fandom because I still have so much to do this year and money is kind of something I'll need until I get to finally change/switch employments...err...yeah. 

Aside from that, I should really quit hanging out, OUT too much after work. I have blog posts and other things to catch up on, too. Usually, by the time I'm done and home from random hangouts in the afternoon after work, I get too tired to work anything and just lurk online (on the bird app, no less). I should be more productive...hmn...

So how are valentines' day plans coming? All I know is I direly NEED that trip to Bantayan Island in Cebu City on the 21st, with or without friends because the last one standing, my best friend since our last year of high school just bailed on me a few days ago on this one. Also, yes, Taipei food post coming up in a few. I just had to get this one off for now.

blood red, cherry red

slipdress and blazer, vintage. clutch, ninewest. boots, rubi by cotton on via zalora (similar). ribbon tri-strand choker, verano ph via zalora (similar).

Happy hearts day, y'all! 

I'm settling down to music videos and stage performances by my favorite men/boys tonight. It's uhmn...well, more than my traditional Valentines' day tradition along with watching Da-iCE concert/s here and there to name one (or catching up to Kamen Rider Build as I left it off at episode 13 or so a couple nights ago...), it's an every night sort of thing since the MVs and stage performances are in a playlist on my windows media player. LOL. Anyway, I think this is the best way to cap the Hearts' day celebration with. I'm just missing organic/healthy dark chocolate eating somehow. The sad thing is that I don't have any of these at hand. Hmn...a strawberry zinfandel would be nice to have tonight, though, while on this MVs and stage performances marathon watching. I'm pretty sure I'll move on in a bit and play catch up with Kamen Rider Build and the kdrama, Radio Romance anyway. I've only finished 2 episodes of the latter. The reason I picked up said kdrama is thanks to Yoon Doo Joon from Highlight but that could have easily been very predictable as Highlight is my favorite kpop boygroup after Da-iCE from Japan.

For tonight, I have two tracks I love that are more about self-love and freedom than they are about dreamy romantic love:

I think these are perfect for winding down, chilling to tonight, especially when one has been out say, working or attending classes. AAA's MisaChia's MV for Jewel is cut short at 4 minutes or so but the whole track is beautiful on the Way of Glory album. It is, no doubt, my favorite so far from AAA after years of them volleying from multi-genre-d AAA to purely EDM AAA and back to being multi-genre. 

I love, love, loooovee really positive, cheerful songs (Jpop has a lot of these but Kpop is catching up as well) and those especially about self-love. Really freeing bops are also my thing so Faky's Somewhere We'll Know is an eternal favorite where that goes. I'd also add E-girls' Kitakaze to Taiyou (The North Wind and the Sun) here but I sort of remember posting that one just a few days or a week ago or so, so I'm going to leave that out in this one this time. Such songs help keep my head above the water, cheer me up some and help me fake it when I feel like needing to fake it. I guess there's nothing like girl power where pop music goes. I'm usually more into the male idol group side of things: Da-iCE, Magic Prince, PrizmaX, Choutokkyuu/Bullettrain, Flowback, Infinite, Highlight and Golden Child but tonight I will let those men/boys rest and go with the girls since it's hearts' night anyway and I need a friendly reminder that I love myself more than I love those males in the idol groups I mentioned. Haha. Oh, and even music. Though usually it's music first for me over self. They can co-exist well together in my book though,if you catch my drift here. That's the beauty of the self and music. 

cropped

photos 1-2: shortalls, cotton on. cropped top, susto the label via zalora ph. heels, zalora ph. bag, giani bernini via macy's. photos 3-4: top and skirt, forever21. clutch, ninewest. boots, rubi by cotton on via zalora ph (similar but not really).

Tuesday and Wednesday's outfits in one post because the home didn't have any working internet connection until today. This usually happens when the months come with 31 days in them. And yes, a couple of cropped tops came out the past two days and they're fast becoming my favorites. The black version of the white forever21 top was worn with a slipdress to watch a local (Filipino) film, Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes (English trans.: The Two Mrs. Reyes) with the uncle in SM Premier here. It was a fun film and definitely has a whole lot of quotes to check out. It's one very quotable, very very fun film I can easily relate with because apparently, in real life, a lot of my crushes aren't at all straight. Haha. Well, life. It happens. I'll expand on that one on some other time I feel like doing so... (Count on me to never let this happen or come true. LOL. ....reason being, I'm a very private person...and I'd like to remain that way.)

Anyway, yes, I'm getting quite attached to the cropped silhouettes somehow. I'm looking to add more when I can. Susto the Label has a lot of them I like, no, more like, love that are quite on the affordable end. I haven't tired of stalking that page on Zalora yet. It's Krista speak for: Susto the Label is becoming a top favorite local brand for me. This, although the middle button of the top I got from them can't be locked in anymore because the the hole for it on the opposite side came loose... Hmn... I'll try to get it fixed some other time.

Today's music: 

I've been addicted to this one for a long while now I usually have it on repeat on itunes. Hah. The music video is also so pretty I love it but sadly, Avex only uploaded the short version like they usually do for this group, among others (including their own groups, AAA and lol) so yes, it leaves us who aren't at all in Japan disappointed and hanging. E-girls is really more my aesthetic than AKB48 and their sister groups however I'm someone who's not so picky (although I may come across super picky sometimes) with pop music. I hardly really discriminate or learned not to discriminate so much where that goes and as such am one who can recognize good bops as they come my (out) way so I do recognize AKB48 tracks like Koisuru Fortune Cookie as such. It's just that, I'm more biased on the more normal, less really super cute female idoly, and the more fashion forward/modern, classy female and male idol groups. This actually explains why my fandoms are: Avex's AAA, Da-iCE, lol, SOLIDEMO, CREAM, etc.; Sony Japan's Flowback; LDH's E-girls (I think they're not called that anymore, though), Flower, Dream (they disbanded, insert crying emoji here), Happiness; for the South Korean side: Around Us Entertainment's Highlight; Woollim Entertainment's Infinite and Golden Child; and at times, Cube Entertainment's BtoB and Pentagon.

By the by, tonight, I'm currently listening to and drowning to Infinite's new full record/album, Top Seed and it's beautiful, from the first or opening track to the third. Tell Me and Synchronise are my top favorites from this one. I might just become a part-time Inspirit apart from already being a part-time Light and full-time a-I... Hmn...I'll think about this some more...

indian summer hot end of the year holiday season

top, mixed berry dumaguete city. shortall, cotton on. boots, rubi by cotton on via zalora (similar but not really). bag, ninewest. sunglasses, dad's.

This holiday season, we're experiencing a heatwave. This makes me want to spend most of it pool- or beach-side. I hope I get the chance to do so one day during the Christmas and New Year holidays... 

I like the black, blue and red combination when it comes to dressing up. A pop of red always works for me when the daily outfit ends up looking pretty dull. What's even sweeter about this top is it's cropped but just by a bit.

What I currently have playing:

Hmn...this is weird...the music video would not show when I do a search on it on the attach video feature Blogger has. There's no problem when I look it up on Youtube's official site, however. ....and yes, I love my mannequins, RiRi and LuLa *insert heart-eyes emojis here*

when the holiday season remains grim yet festivities abound everywhere

t, sm savemore. skirt, zalora (similar in midi version). heels, zalora (similar but not so...also, it's a different brand). clutch, ninewest. bangles/bracelets, dumaguete city souvenir shop and vintage.

Yesterday was a holiday so the malls were crowded. Like, really, really crowded. The city has about three to four malls and two that were the closes to each other that we went to had pretty jampacked parking lots. But, beyond that, lunch was had at Circa 1850 (their pescetarian and vegetarian pastas are perfect! and I'm crazy about their matcha/green tea cheese cake they didn't have yesterday---I had this one the previous time I was there with the family...) and strolling with window shopping, too. Bingsoo was also found on the topmost level of SM Premiere which is something I'm looking forward to go back for with the best girl friend (whom I was also with yesterday).

The reason for these shopping places being full? Yesterday, November 30 was a holiday, Bonifacio (a national hero) Day. I don't usually wander around during days like this---I'd rather be hermitting at home or maybe take a trip to a not-so crowded, partly undiscovered beach (resort?) or pool but I did anyway. It was a free day so that one couldn't be helped. 

And today's music:

this, from lol because I feel it sums up how this year's Christmas/Holiday season feels like.