I think I’m gonna dream of Polaroids and New York in technicolor tonight. <3

Anyway.. I managed to score 10 packs of One600 Polaroid films back in December after a loooong and winding quest to find suppliers here in Manila (which was, for the record, a failure, because we’re in a third world country and life’s not fair like that) and after finally succumbing to the fact that ordering from Ebay was the only way to go. So yeah, given that that acquisition cost me an arm and a leg, I’ve only used up 3 packs of Polaroid films so far, sparing the rest from impulsive, trigger happy shots and keeping them in the top shelf away from my itching hands.

I can’t wait to use up my remaining stock of Polaroids the way Andrew Farris did. Surely, New York (and Sydney) is worth saving up these overpriced boxes of expired films for.

(Via Design Vagabond)

+ I was reading Ala Parades’ tumblr post, Let The Right One In, and this one word came to my mind as I finished off reading: Ahhh, VINDICATION. I mean, sure, Ala’s just another girl, and one can always say that this may not be the case for everyone, but it made me sigh in relief to know that hey, I’m not alone in wanting to feel needed. I’m not psycho, hooray! Admittedly though, (unlike Mae), I’m kind of the extreme version of that type of girl. The kind who, when in a relationship, lets the other person in too much too soon that she loses herself early in the process. Sure, I can take care of myself, I can easily adapt to whatever comes my way, and I have countless of dreams up my sleeve that I thought I can do without any help from anyone, more so from a potential boyfriend. But once in a relationship, I easily lose my grip on these things, carelessly let my guard down and just totally lose myself to the other person, which sucks, because when I start to realize that the other person does not really need me the same way, or that we’re not in the same page after all, then I start needing more, and well, everything’s just downhill from there.

I think I figured out what’s wrong in the equation. It’s not wrong to want to feel needed, or to expect your partner to need you in his life, or to lose yourself in him — those are, in fact, essential in relationships. I think what I missed out on is knowing/meeting/finding the right person to let in, the operative word being “right”, because letting one wrong person after another in is no good either.

+ I wish I have Ate Stef’s courage, sharing her breakup experience like that. I remember blogging something similar way back in 2007, and well, things like this amaze me. How easy it is to connect with people who share the same experience, and sometimes even with your 23-year old self. Break-ups may be ugly (I hate them, I don’t ever want to feel that sadness ever again) but, just as I blogged 3 years ago, I still believe that going through a break-up is one of the most (if not the most) liberating, life-altering experiences one can ever go through. It comes with the simple fact that when God allows something to end, it’s only because something else is bound to begin. And that’s kinda the part I love about break-ups. And whut, did I just use “love” and “break-up” all in one sentence?

+ My brother cooked his specialty Chicken Enchilada Sunday night and gee, as I munched on a plateful of that yummy stuff, I kept thinking, where did my brother learn to cook like that? Sure, he must have inherited his cooking instincts from my mother and my grandmother, who are awesome cooks by the way, but ohhh how I feel cheated! I mean, I’m the only girl among the siblings, and I seriously believe that I should be the rightful inheritor of any of their culinary skills, not my brother! I’m sometimes disappointed with the stagnancy of this life, I feel like I’m not getting anywhere! My friend Trisha, who’s in Sydney, used to just blog about random, girly, PMS-y stuff like I do, but now, her escapades to the culinary world are just WHOA. It’s awesome how her blog, Sugarlace.com in case you missed the link, has become a venue for some serious honest-to-goodness domestication. And I, meanwhile, am still blogging about nonsensical emo stuff. I am so envious. I have got to find something I can excel in. Maybe not cooking, but something. Anything!

(But okay, I’m lying, I do know a thing or two about applying make-up, I kinda enjoy coloring my face with it, and I do know that Urban Decay has got the best eyeshadow palettes out there. As a matter of fact, I’ve been using UD’s Sustainable Shadow Box as my daily ’shadow for months now and it has not failed me EVER. And now I’m just happy to give that good ol’ thing a break, Alice saves the day.)

So I’ll just take photos instead. Because Alice is pretty. And these are the kinda stuff I’d like to adorn my blog with.

Also, I know that I’m one of the few lucky ones in Manila who get to have Alice ahead of everyone else, so yeah, this is just me making you girls die of envy. *insert evil grin here*

OAN, if you want real, credible, useful reviews and swatches, head over to Liz and Lauren’s blogs, they’re actually the ones responsible for my ongoing love affair with Alice in Wonderland. (Thank you, ladies, for inviting me and Mara to order with you.)

• Review & Swatches: Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows by Lauren
• Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland by Liz

Now please please please take me out to coffee so I get an excuse to leave the house and wear make-up.

I’m sure I’ll still have a use for this mannequin in the future. But for now, I play dress up in my spare time, much like playing with a life-size doll. Hence the mannequin’s name, Barbie. (Yes, I name stuff, deal with it.)

Here’s my own live version of Polyvore. ;)

I abhorred purple my whole life (because it reminds me of Barney), until recently. I’d like to think of it as Xaris‘ crazy addiction with anything purple rubbing on me. Now, I’m crazy about the color too! Not all hues of purple though. I don’t like flashy neon purples. Instead I like the deep shade of plum. (And you know how much I like it with blue.)

Today I put on Barbie these girly colors of pink and plum, balanced out with some yellow gold, bronze and brown.

Knitted muffler from Zara; Brown leather belt from Petit Monde; Purple faux leather purse from Fold and Hung; Floral printed skirt from *ehem* TheDreamerie *ehem*, thrifted

I’m addicted to skirts that are worn as tube dresses.

Also, I’m addicted to skirts and dresses with pretty patterns and fabrics, that even though I don’t like the cut, or it’s too long for my liking, I’d still get it off the rack because I can’t stand turning my back on something so pretty. (Is there some cure to this form of obsession?)

Other than the lovely fabric, there are a lot of things you can do with this skirt so I thought it was worth stocking it up in the shop. It’s garterized and has draw strings, which makes it wearable as a tube dress, or a skirt that falls up to mid-calf, or a high-waisted skirt. And you can just imagine the many colors you can mix and match with this skirt’s pretty floral print!

It reminds me of Reese Witherspoon when she was Melanie Smooter in Sweet Home Alabama. She went back to her home town wearing a black-and-white floral printed mid-calf skirt, a plain black off-shoulder top, and black pointed knee high leather boots. Ahh, I totally digged the Southern look.

How about you? What’s your latest obsession? :)

Later on, I found an outtake in her tumblr account:

Isn’t she pretty? :)

Pay her a visit, you won’t regret it, she’s a brilliant artist: Site | Tumblr | Deviantart

It has been a blast since TheDreamerie was launched three weeks ago. I admit that venturing into something that would generate extra income was among the major reasons why the idea of putting up an online store came to fruition (not to mention finding an outlet for my unavoidable impulsive shopping sprees, but that goes without saying). However, I realized as I went about finding clothes and dresses to put up in the shop that the real profit in this business, more than the money, is meeting new people and finding items that would inspire others to express themselves through their clothing.

Is it so weird that I’ve developed a certain attachment to the clothes we put up in the shop? Ahhh, especially after naming them as if they’re our children! Conversations like, “Have you sent out Fiona to Liz already?” or “This dress looks like Seraphim to me.” or “Yay, someone is getting Janice!” are normal everyday YM exchange between me and Marian, as if we talk about real people and not clothes. I guess what I’m trying to say is, more than the thrill of shopping and being surrounded by pretty vintage clothes, I’ve grown to love the idea of finding these dresses someone to take care of them.

Such is how I felt when I saw Feanne’s self portraits. It made my heart swell with joy knowing that this rose-patterned long-sleeved top, which used to be hanging in some unnoticed rack in the corner of a thrift store in some old building in the city, which I later named “Old Rose”, is now in good hands.

I thought seeing these photos was the sweetest thing that happened that day.

Thanks, Feanne. If I knew you before, I would’ve named that vintage top after you. :)

* * *

Meanwhile, we recently launched our Third Collection over at TheDreamerie.Com. Do drop by, you might find something you like. :)

I’ve been doing night shift the whole week, starting my day really late and sleeping at past 5AM the next day. Not that I’m required to, but my days have become twisted and I just couldn’t get any work done when it’s too.. (uh) bright. (What a lame.) I really have to stop being like this. The effects are manifesting physically already, I seem to be so sickly lately.

OAN, I suddenly miss being forced to blog and take photos everyday! Hence this photograph I took 5 minutes ago, and this post. That’s how my desk looks like right now. I can’t remember when I moved those fake flowers from the coffee table to my desk, but I do remember liking the view of something — anything — pretty in a pile of mess while I work. That red giant button is actually my handy dandy sewing kit, I used it the other day to fix some items for the shop. And then there’s a roll of paper twine, some pearl and beaded necklaces, 5 peso coins, rechargable batteries, and my cup of coffee that’s already cold.

But enough about me and my boring desk and my boring Saturday morning.

Three of my friends have been doing the 30-day blog challenge and I’ve been following them closely, excited to see where their journeys will take them:

Reah’s 30 days is almost over. Hers is a collection of musings of a 26-year old wife and expecting Mom. I’m glad there are people like her who share their story. And then the rest of us can get a glimpse of how it’s like. ;)

I just love getting to know Tina more with her 30 days that is composed of just about anything that makes her Tina. I love the idea of finding one of those Switchfoot CDs she hid in random places. I’m tempted to go to Eastwood and look where the Starbucks bearistas are. It reminds me of what R thought of doing 3 years ago, leaving simple art pieces in random places for strangers to find. I’m inspired to do something similar. :)

Lastly, Lovelle’s 30 Day Love Challenge is just the perfect theme for her. She ends her posts with little challenges like, “Give a chocolate bar to your boss who you really dislike,” or “Give your mom a break this weekend, do the laundry,” — simple stuff you can do to spread teh luv. It’s brilliant, I love it. :) I did the laundry “challenge” yesterday, only for me, it involved putting the dirty laundry in a bag and carrying it over to the laundry shop and paying extra so they would deliver it back. Err, does that count?

Carry on, ladies. Keep us inspired. :)

Meanwhile, it’s drizzling again in this side of the world. Why isn’t the weather cooperating just when you’ve made a decision to be productive? Okay, scratch that. I’m going to get some work done, by hook or by crook. c”,)

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Where in the Philippines can you get these stuff anyway? I heard there are stores in Hidalgo, Quaipo that sell them, I still have yet to check that. (But I also heard that finding polaroid film packs in Quiapo is unlikely, so yeah, I don’t know what to believe anymore).

In the meantime, I torture myself some more by browsing through pages after pages of Flickr photos such as these:

by Lilacmoon

by Toni

by Lyptonvillage

by Dreamincolour

by Lilylove

by Susannah Conway

Why issit raining Polaroids everywhere in the world BUT the Philippines? Is it wrong to sometimes wish I live in a different country because of this?? Haaaay.

Anyway, let’s do some visual blogging again, because I’m drained of words after a long day of working and talking to people. How timely it is that my random bloghop to one of my favorite blogs surprised me with something that doesn’t need a lot of words ;)

Why hello, Leslie did it again! I’m constantly amazed how she would come up with this play of colors! I feel like I want to live in her photographs! Just recently, I also posted some of her purples and blues. Today, she went for pinks, melons and peaches.

And here are some more of her inspiration boards from way back. <3

And you say the topview photos I take of my desk are exceptional?? Wait til you see Leslie’s blog!

How about you? Which of the boards up there are your faves? :)

Here’s how the concept of this online boutique came about, because I don’t actually have time to explain right now, LOL. :) Lesson learned: Check your schedule first before setting a major site launch. Waah, I should be somewhere right about now, and I scheduled THIS NIGHT OF ALL NIGHTS to launch my shop!!

Just a quickie, it’s raining pearl earrings in my side of the world, so tonight, to launch TheDreamerie.Com, I’ll be giving away pearl earrings over there too!

These pearl earrings are slightly smaller than the ones I gave away just recently. :)

Btw, to the girls who are supposed to receive those earrings, I’m reallyy sorry for the delay. I scheduled a trip to the post office (because I was hoping to cut costs on shipping, hehe) instead of sending them over through A21 or Fedex, but my schedule got screwed up and was not able to go so the earrings are still with me. They will all be sent before this week ends, though. Promise. :)

So, okay, if you’re into thrifting and vintage items, fly by TheDreamerie. Meanwhile, I have to ruuuun.

DAY TWENTYSIX. Although it may look like I’m starting to get lenient about my 30-day challenge and posting late, I’m as determined as ever to reach finish line. The delays you’re seeing is mostly me, stalling, because for some reason I don’t want this 30 days to end. Ugh. Senti much? More thoughts on this later.

Meanwhile, remember when I won a print from one of Simply Hues‘ contests? I’ve been exchanging Etsy convos with Chelsea Lee, the photographer who’s sending me my *ehem* prize, and here are some of her photographs that I would’ve picked if I’m not limited to just one.

Guess which one I picked? :)

Check out Chelsea’s blog and etsy store!

On another note, I’m going to announce who won the Camera Charm Earrings later today! I’ll try my best not to post the results past midnight as per usual, promise! Watch out for it tonight, 9:00PM! :)

30 Days of Awesome, 26/30.