on the front page, a black and white picture.

**all images collected from ateliegaaya.blogspot.com - awesome collections of gorgeous and inspiring photos :)

journey series: never ending stalls

always one of my fave stops in manila. .. divisoria!
just bought a few things yesterday, it was really difficult holding myself back with purchasing so many adorable items, i'm kinda glad that i did pretty well i'd say. it felt like i just earned a badge for a new shopping skill. felt good to be honest, not to buy on impulse in a place like divisoria. ah!

Midnight Mishaps.

So, my hands are shaking both because the windows are open and there's a chilly breeze blowin' through, and it's the middle of the night, AND... I just happened to receive a package from Burberry worth $2010 freaking simoleons, NO, ACTUALLY, I MEAN REAL DOLLARS.

**(post is published late... received package Wednesday night)

WHAT THE HUBALAHEY! (I need that money actually... !!)

So, how many times do you get something so freaking expensive in the mail?
All I ordered was an eyeliner my gift card could afford, it was that or a votive candle (which would cost me extra for shipping!?!)... and I get an extra box of "goodies".

I kinda thought it was Christmas, or an early bday gift, or even, that I won a secret Burberry contest... but it happens to be, ... A NO. Just an ultimate shipping mistake. What a joke to play warehouse folks. Hmph! (Yes, it is boxed up again for return.)

Well, here's photos of MY purchase, I did get an extra vial of perfume! (FANCY gift, unlike the uber tiny testers you get from MACYs or any other chain department stores...) and all the other little tidbits like the gift bag, receipt envelope (I know... it has an envelope) and the tissue were nice touches. Hey, if you know me, I do like paper and packaging and all those little details... so... without further ado. My $39 order.

Same print embossed on both paper bag and envelope. (Ah, it felt so fancy!!)

My eyeliner and small gift from purchase!
(I've used "fancy" way too much in this post, but I'm gonna use it again!) FANCY!

blazers, boots and bangs weather.

i'm not a summer girl. spring, yes. winter, absolutely. fall, sure, except for the santa ana winds.

happy it's getting cooler again.

so bring on the blazer&boot weather. (and all the other stuff rolls over too. 'cause it's california).
and when it gets cold enough - fingerless gloves&theworks.
of course, carmella'll say i'm bumming it again.
oh, and october calls for the fringe.

*photo credit; garance dore & scott schuman.

i might, possibly, NEED these shoes.

Boutique 9 (Nine West line) Optimus Boot -
I love them, I tried them on at Nordstrom, coz they're on sale. But my pocket isn't even on a sale budget! Hmm. Uber pretty shoes though!

Swedish Hasbeens Braided Skyhigh['s] are so cute! There's also a sale on their website, but again.. see reason above.

J Crew Leather Ballet Flats - These I'm really hoping to save for and invest in. Most likely will never be on sale. HA-HA-HA. But can't decide between both colors. Probably will get the lighter one, because I have bags of this shade, and I don't want to match.

J Crew Leather Ballet Flats - in "Sand"

i inherited these.

so i recently lost my precious and prized, (i must confess...) 2$ worth sunnies. (although i do hope i find them somewhere in the house when i get my bags organized, if not, oh well.) but how amazingly blessed am i to inherit a pair of vintage glasses from my dad? these are the exact ones i received last night.... i found the photo after googling about the possible name/style of the glasses, and voila! score.

Serengeti Glasses, Vintage DR 6206, Tortoise and Gold

Fancy! My brother will surely beg to borrow these from me. We share things inherited from our father (like an amazing olive green jacket/parka....!!) half the time. (Yes, because sometimes, menswear's fit are very comfortable, doable and stylish for women!)

Thanks Dad.

compilations of etceteras, bags actually.

thinking of getting a good leather (although i know there is one canvas on there... haa.. ) bag to invest in as a day bag, oh and a portfolio case is always sweet! and voila, these are my current choices so far, are there any you think i missed that look a little like these??

cause i wouldn't be able to fit it in a closet.

have you heard about looklet? it's this amazing little online game/app whatever you want to call it; and it functions basically like a modernized digital "paper" doll (i couldn't explain it without the word paper!). it solves my shopping dilemmas. i mean, reason why i would want to shop for all these clothes (in a nonsense way) is because i want to make outfits with them. so since i don't have the money, or space to afford a house worth of clothes... looklet gets the job done! so hop on over and make a free account (and they're so nice, they don't spam!)! don't forget to look over my growing look collection, i'll be the only "aninamous" account ;)

i think we'll make it.

inspirations for a personal project, .. and i guess you can put this on the wishlist.
i think i like, and would like this bag better than the chanel 2.5 flap bag... (which is being mass populated in manila/china... so much for special!)

things of gathering in the sun.

 

afternoon photos waiting in the sun, i'll leave you with that. i don't feel like saying too much today. hope you guys are having a good saturday. :)

my blanket of a scarf, and pictures from a friend.

 

believe it or not, it was a cold day, but how happy i was to wear a skirt, a "resurrected" skirt at that-- ! this is what happens when you've been living out of a backpack for TWO months. oh, and everything worn here was either free or bargained! (*photo creds to a sweet little girl named gabby.)

items worn: scarf bargained downtown and then custom made (despite the fact that it's not as flattering here!), denim jacket thrifted from goodwill, velvet long sleeve hand-me-down from 4th grade, and recent hand-me-down tweed skirt (that i oh so tried to resurrect, but i was pretty happy with how it turned out!), thick winter tights (because it was a pretty chilly day!) from my mom, and wedge leather boots courtesy of my auntie.

the cold breeze was here..

sunset, sequins and a quick night out to see the lights (and i know cam's not focused!).

i'm becoming a sweet tooth.

i still haven't got my fix of fudge cake, i lost a couple pounds in the course of two weeks, two more weeks of calorie counting, and we'll see if i continue after february. carmella gave me a stash of make-up, and i tried doing the red lippy thing, it gradually became lighter in the course of the day, and i appreciated that-- anyway it was fun.

if i had an extra hundred;

i wouldn't spend it on this, because i'd need it for far more important things.. (sigh!)

pair above are zara's mens flat sole boots (sooooo in love with them!), they were on sale during december and january, but i guess they weren't for me coz i only found them in size 10. :(

anyway, zara's site was down, and i couldn't browse their new batch of shoes for sale.
wonder if i should invest in a good pair of hunter ankle boots instead... i might be moving somewhere tropical, or well, if i end up moving to melbourne, it rains a good deal there during the winter so....

blah blah blah-- gung hai fat choi btw, new and humble beginnings. holy momentum is coming! (i know and believing for it!)

it's here!

our little fashion studio is coming together! check it out! we'll be updating and launching all week long!
--enjoyed a bit of designing too! check out my 2011 banner :)

thought you might want to know...

... a little bit of how we put "under construction" together....

(1) we did a little scouting, and voila, found the perfect location for our anticipated shoot! my little bro was my stand-in model for "testing" the area.

(2) i thought this little window was so beautiful, unfortunately we didn't use this section because a man was sleeping on a bench close by that day. (hehe!)

(3) same goes with this little section here, ... we couldn't possibly bother the exhausted man taking his afternoon nap on the lone bench in the area. but this was one of the sections i absolutely loved! felt a little european right smack dab in los angeles!

 (4) we were able to take a couple shots here-- beauty!

(5) and another fave, the electrical post... if you noticed on this picture -here-, on the top right corner, there was a little signage that actually said don't climb on the post, and we technically didn't, we just held onto it, which wasn't that safe either, such rebels! hahaha!

(6) our make-up stylist's treasure box! check her work out on makeupbycarmella.com, expect to see our fashion shoot on the website soon! 

 

(7) all-in-one studio!

 (8) one of our models having coffee while getting styled-- such a diva! haha!

(9) bringing on the fierce before the shoot!

(10) all-in-one make-up, hair, and fashion stylist, and flash lady-- our very own, carmella pacana, helping out our photographer, glenn espina

(11) our girls in action!

 (12) our models backstage!

(13) much love from all of us! xxoo!

hope you guys stay tuned for the launch of our very own style studio in january 2011!
also-- we hit our new fave store goodwill about a week ago, and scored some major deals! so for style steals, deals, and other fun stuff and tips, do drop by again soon!

great minds think alike?

 -me & my eleven year old shirt-

 -notice the shirt on joel houston, shirt also looks aged-

-and then brooke fraser, coming in third, shirt not as faded-
(hair-did is a coincidence! [although, her fringe falls better than mine!])

decided to squeeze in this post today... because i am going to see brooke fraser tonight! (and no, i'm not wearing my plaid shirt, haha!) gonna be the first time i watch brooke live! amazing music, amazing woman.

--on the side note, i'm gonna meet up with a girl who's also a brooke fan, who was also at hillsong conference 2010 in sydney, who lives in the greater los angeles area-- pretty exciting, we met on twitter. lol.

so updates on the show at Largo, and yadayadayada later.