i know, i owe every reader an apology for the lack of updates but the last months have been extra hectic both in the work and family front.
with this brief post i would just want to greet everyone a happy and safe holidays! i also would like to wish all a joyous and bountiful new year ahead of us!
for an early holiday treat, dear hubby and i are blessed with the news of an impending new baby coming in june next year!
calling all vintage lovers out there. these are just a few of the hermes collection that will be auctioned off at christie’s starting in a few days in london.
all photos from christie’s
if interested to bid, log on and register at the christie’s site. auction will start on september 28. good luck!
source : purse forum at the purse blog
if you think you fell in love with john legend after hearing his first album when it came out, wait till you hear his latest album when it drops sometime this fall. the grammy-award winning artist will be coming out with a new album full of smooth tunes that will captivate and tug every heart out there! to listen to his first single, save room, click here.
thanks to friend, jo, for the heads up!
mark your calendars! calling all l.a. girls, on monday august 28th - tory by trb will have a one-day sale marking 15 % off on fall merchandise! store is located at 142 s. robertson blvd.
after playing a good two hours at our local chanel, checking out purses and jackets on sale, our friendly SA handed each of us little goodie bags filled with their newest regenerating cream called sublimage. derived from the plant vanilla planifolia, found in madagascar and blooms only at a limited time of september to november each year, this fruit contains polyketones - which holds the secret to skin’s youthful appearance and vitality. the chanel laboratories have unravelled skillfully the powers of this plant and has evolved it’s extract to a powerful anti-aging cream.
available at your local chanel stores and at neiman marcus.
in the attempts to save back-to-school shopping money, the annual no-tax weekend is here starting tomorrow until sunday. i have been eyeing a few items i think i’ll get, like this paul and joe for target kimono dress in teal which i adore. i already got the black one but of course everyone is bored with black and all the teal sizes have been snapped up!
i think it’s also a great time to stock up on under $ 100 basic clothing like shorts, tshirts, pajamas, sweaters, socks, shoes from stores like gap, urban outfitters, old navy, j.crew, banana republic etc. and some specialty boutiques have no-tax weekend sale re-pricing everything to under $ 100, to lure more shoppers on this 3-day event. it will be a crazy weekend, so i better start early friday and hit the stores together with all the soccer moms out there!
replica. fake. designer-inspired.
whatever you call it - it is deception, cheating, misrepresentation and just plain illegal.
in the attempts of playing at human emotions - there are websites and shops dedicated in manipulating, swindling and victimizing innocent consumers sucked into misleading promise of the genuine real designer major purchase.
it has been a worldwide issue hurting the fashion industry and most recently, even the pharmaceutical market. currently, i have read a battle against a website who to a naive and gullible browsing client , this website has the ingredients of a reliable merchant. oh, but there’s more to this virtually luxurant online store.
but this cause is so much deeper than just nailing the people behind these active sites selling fake merchandise. this is a huge counterfeit market stemming into a worldwide problem. just a friendly warning, please do not fall in a trap of a steal-of-a-deal purchase and be blinded by the bargain. do not forget that your local retailers are just next door offering you the service and extra mile pampering in achieving your goal of owning a handbag (or whatever it is for that matter).
even socialites are not spared from global warning. be not a true fashion victim here.
i almost passed out when i saw this goyard ad in our local fashion magazine. i swear, i thought they were opening another store here in houston. a newly converted fan, i seriously had palpitations knowing if they will open soon, i will be one of their frequent flyer visitors.
as i closely scrutinized the ad, sadly i realized it was promoting their flagship store in union square, san francisco - where the store remains to stay for it’s exclusivity. even if goyard is available at barneys and bergdorf goodman stores, the flagship boutique is the only store offering custom designs like skulls, lions etc. other than the costumized stripes and letters. for an extra fee, racing stripes can be added and initials to both barneys and bergdorf’s store purchases.
for us houstonians, we’d still have to content ourselves in clicking and scrolling around the barneys’ website to satisfy our needs (local barneys here is only the fun coop store). alas, it will remain that way. for now.
known as the original birkin, this less popular size has a slightly shorter handle but a taller body. for the untrained eye, this just basically look like the other birkins except for some minute details. obviously i’m a fan, i love this tricolor being that it’s fun, loud and different.
i can easily see myself carrying it with an all-white dress or even blue jeans and a white shirt. the handbag needs a solid palette in the background, so, a black whimsical dress will also do. this purse deserves it’s dramatic unveiling, therefore, the owner needs to be able to handle the attention and is able to hold on her own.
life is tough. a handbag such as this brings prompt pampering service making shopping more like a sweet vacation!
these brothers are not exactly your tall-dark-and-handsome dreamboys, but they both possess this funny quirky charm about them that you just get easily drawn to. even owen’s crooked nose definitely adds a cute-ness factor and luke’s boy-next-door appeal is so hard to resist!
even their girlfriends’ track record list seems to be in a minimum compared to other hollywood’s fine-looking men! calling all bachelorettes, hello?
photo credit : houston chronicle
i just got my copy the other day. i should say i’m not so thrilled about it, to say the least. last month, it was lindsay. next month, which “role model” would it be? we have enough of their escapades every week via us weekly, star magazine, in touch and a whole other grocery rack of trash literature that we love to hate but still read religiously. seeing their faces in our fashion bibles just don’t seem to jive with this whole glam couture thing going on.
such a disappointment. i may just have to cut my subscription next year.
with an impending fall debut of her evening bags for judith leiber, stylist rachel zoe is busier than ever. what with hollywood starlets depend on her for their next fashion move - she even found time to collaborate with creative director frank zambrelli on tailoring red-carpet-in-demand exotic skinned clutches adorned with her favorite gold snake accent design. priced up to $ 10,000 - these will be available at neimans and judith leiber stores soon!
for it’s 85th year milestone, luxury-brand leader gucci has created a limited edition collection for fall like this hobo bag shown above. it still has the horsebit detail and a special enamel plate bearing the 85th anniversary plaque. this limited fall line is priced up to $ 20,000 + for crocodile material variety. geez.
am not too crazy about the busy design but since it’s limited, i’m sure people will be rushing in to get a hold of one. happy anniversary, gucci!
responding to closet therapy’s city guide, here are my personal favorites in my kind of town, houston :
Favorite…
one-stop shopping street? westheimer on highland village
one-stop shopping mall? houston galleria mall
store for clothes-shopping? mix and tootsies
store for discount clothes-shopping? saks off fifth
store for premier designer handbags? neiman marcus
store for handbags? joseph
store for premier designer shoes? neiman marcus
store for shoes? gregory’s
store for designer jeans? barneys co-op
store for accessories? sloan/hall
store for beauty products? sephora
store for lingerie shopping? top drawer lingerie
store for home-shopping? kuhl-linscomb
store for doggie-shopping? - -
store for groceries? central market
place to window shop? uptown park
place to hem jeans? ultra design on westheimer
place to tailor other clothes? styles tailor in the rice village
place to fix handbags and shoes? shoe hospital
sale of the year? pre-christmas shopping with holiday card sale yearly
spot for waxing? helena’s
spot for celebrity watching? derek hotel/hotel icon
spot to workout? the houstonian
spot to soak up the sun naturally? kemah boardwalk
spot for a salad lunch? andre’s
spot for ice cream? marble slab
spot for sinful dessert? dessert gallery
spot for night-time hangouts? escalante’s in highland village
spot for yoga? dahn yoga
sample sale? alexandra knight sample sale in her studio
nail salon? isle pedi spa
hair salon? jose eber ceron
tanning salon? malibu tan
place for a massage? trellis at the houstonian
place for eyelash extensions? edward sanchez at jose eber ceron
full-service spa? trellis at the houstonian
… and any other special hotspots in houston that other cities don’t have? happy hour at el tiempo mexican restaurant!
if you’re from houston and if you have any favorites, feel free to drop me a comment. i’d like to hear from you!
a la nora jones, corinne bailey rae has a soulful emotive sound reminiscent of the previously mentioned artist. she’s also been compared to no less than billie holiday and erykah badu! to listen to her album tracks, check it out here.
photo swiped from amazon
kate spade teamed up with british artist hugo guinness to create this limited edition IT bag, only available at kate spade lifestyle boutiques and colette in paris. with only 150 pieces made, grab your’s now!
paris-born sculptor roger vivier, fled to new york during the german invasion of paris then later returned to his hometown and worked under the wings of the late christian dior and yves saint laurent. he pioneered the shocking (at that time) stiletto and platform shoes. his innovative shoe designs earned him the title “heel king”. taking it further, he also first introduced the thigh high boots - a clearly unacceptable footwear during those times - yet his shoes were true objects d’ art and are currently housed in the world’s most prominent art museums.
his collections are sought after by celebrities and even true-blue royalty queens, the manolo and choo should give way to the true king of shoe!
photo credit : style.com
always a win-win situation - that is shopping with a cause.
on may 9th, the ralph lauren houston galleria store will have a two hour special shopping event complete with cocktails from 6 to 8 in the evening. 20 % of the evening’s sales will be benefitting the susan komen breast cancer foundation - houston affiliate and the pink pony fund for cancer care and prevention. and if you can’t make it in the store, 10 % of the pink pony products online benefits the pink pony fund!
your own personalized muse bag? awesome! neiman marcus is now offering free monogram (two initials) for any purchase of the ysl muse bag in white!
orders must be placed asap due to limited supply! go ahead, order now!
update : personalized muse is also available in chocolate color!
saks will hold it’s fragrance week event on april 30 - may 6. smell the latest scents and enjoy meeting with fragrance experts.
with any fragrance purchase of $ 85 or more, you get a perfume flacon as a complimentary gift!
want to channel your favorite celebrities’ fashion style? even better, copying their looks for a fraction of their designer duds price!
check out frugal fashionista, the fashion blog dedicated to sharing star style without compromising your 401K account!
happy reading!
the barneys new york purple card is back! starting april 9th-15th, shop and receive gift cards for every $ 250 you spend.
this is how it works : spend $ 250 and get $ 25 gift card, spend $ 500 get $ 50 gift card - obviously, the more you spend, the bigger gift card amount you get back!
and you can accumulate all purchases from all 7 days of tireless shopping. but these rewards are redeemable only from april 17th thru may 31st. so, hurry up - read up on all the trends not yet acquired, splurge and get rewards back for more shopping!
hard to admit it but i will be a repeat offender on what’s touted to be the “wedding of the year” here in houston. there’s no creative explanation to the lack of dress to friend katherine’s wedding but simply no time and no money. so after long thought and deliberation, i will again wear my custom-made two-piece silver dress made especially for me by jenny kim, the same lady who did my wedding gown five years ago. this dress was only worn once at a niece’s wedding in austin last year and i had worn the top with a pair of jeans one cocktail party ago.
after splurging on daily garbs not yet worn, i found myself too late to scramble for some good deals on gorgeous gowns fit for the wedding. i have multiple entries in the past echoing fashion magazines on what’s in for spring but when it comes to my own game, i choke.
i need to seriously update this dress. i had worn it with a pair of strappy black jimmy choos with rhinestones and a long black satin clutch. i am thinking of wearing it next saturday with silver heels and my alexandra knight croc purse with silver bow. i am still contemplating on what jewelry to wear.
are there any thoughts or suggestions? i am running out of time and buying a new dress is not an option. help!
it’s that time again! i know, some have more important priorities than spending $ 85.00 for some make-up and frangrances, but it’s all in the spirit of free tons of goodies! neiman marcus beauty event promises some exciting free stuff in this cute tote! free samples from darphin, kiehl’s, cartier, fresh and orlane, are included in this limited offer until march 12!
so hurry, shop online or simply stop by the store to grab one!
i am taking a brief break from my weekly saturday stakeout to bring to you some vented emotions and whines from a disturbed client in a high-end salon.
the client : me.
i am using the term “disturbed” because i have never paid this much money just to make me look a little better. and this does not even include total body waxing or even a little shoulder massage. i was in a rut today, hopelessly trying to avoid attending a valentine’s opening party for a new antique shop - which then led me to have my hair done. a total mess. my hair, that is. i have been tying it on a ponytail for the last few months as a result of my dedicated vietnamese girl’s pregnancy wherein she’s due anytime now. so, for the time being, i have flat-ironed my hair to death, i have tied it with a band for an easy ponytail and recently, my husband pointed out the dryness and copper-ish look of my hair ends.
that led me to drop by in a local aveda salon hoping that it’ll be close on sundays but the blinding track lights high above the ceiling can illuminate the nearby grocery store. the place was literally about 3 minutes from our house and sits next to our favorite local coffeeshop, the grind.
i just wanted to have my roots touched up with the dark brown tint i have. that was the plan until the hostess took one look at me - then she rattled off the services i needed and managed to lead me to the back of the salon which have a sea of people in black outfits. as i submitted myself to their arms, i ended up having highlights and roots touch-up done with a new haircut (which i admit is great!) and a powerful blow-dry to complete the transformation.
the total time i spent in that nature-smelling salon was 5 hours. and i did not have lunch! ben was ready to threaten the whole salon staff, if they don’t let me go! that’s how long it took to rejuvenate my obviously ill locks. the finish product : a bouncy, layered look with dark blonde highlights!
but the road leading out the salon was very painful. i have to shelve out $ 300.00 for all the services - includes color, highlights, highlights relaxer, cut, blow-dry, products (i’m loyal to kerastase!) and tip. i have never paid that much in my life for some hair pampering that would probably last over a week. ok, maybe a month.
my only consolation - i love it. and ben loves it! so maybe it’s worth it after all.
have you previously paid more for a haircut/color? please share. make me feel a little better.
january is my birthday month. i waited all my life to reach 35. it’s nothing out of the ordinary, but still another year added to a life well lived.
let me share my 35 milestones in life :
1. born in 1971 to a teacher and banker who were originally from negros and migrated to iloilo to study and eventually settled
2. i was part of the first ever nursery class for central philippine university
3. i got into first grade early. i started nursery school basically under-age
4. was in the honor roll only in fourth grade
5. developed lifetime friendships in grade school
6. graduated in elementary school with honors
7. passed the UP entrance exam for high school
8. had a grand 4 years in UP
9. had first ever serious boyfriend in high school
10. joined the high school basketball team. only to quit due to weight loss
11. more friendships blossomed in high school still ongoing for decades
12. my mother and older sister left for the states in 1983
13. graduated in high school with loads of perpetual memories and kinships
14. passed UPCAT for B.S. Biology major
15. decided to take up Physical Therapy instead and moved to Cebu to study
16. due to missing my family, i moved back home and took up B.S. Nursing
17. accepted God as my personal Lord and Saviour
18. our memorable family vacation in baguio and manila in the late 80s
19. our unforgettable boracay family vacation in the early 90s
20. graduated in nursing school in 1992
21. passed the nursing boards shortly after
22. passed CGFNS right after the boards
23. joining PAL in 1993
24. living in manila with no boundaries and limits
25. living in cebu the second time without the verge of restrains
26. first flight to Hawaii with the PAL cabin crew
27. joining my family in the States in 1995
28. mini high school reunion in chicago
29. first nursing job in 1996
30. meeting my future husband in a fundraising event of our church
31. buying my first car in 1996
32. getting married in 2000
33. working for MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2001
34. trip to Maui with the hubby in 2004
35. giving up my nursing research career to join my husband in his practice
whew! there are so much more…..i can’t wait now to be forty!
2005 spelled celebrations and tragedies for most. personally, it marked a major change in my career path that i’m hoping i will face head-on with a new confident air by 2006. before i start ranting about my new year’s resolutions (and the plans on how to achieve them), here’s my take on the year that was 2005.
WORST :
- tomkat
- brad/jennifer split
- the movie dukes of hazzard
- hurricane katrina/rita
- houston astros losing all world series games
- paris and paris pseudo-engagement
- kevin federline
- london’s terrorist bombings
BEST :
- brad/angelina hook-up
- john legend
- tv’s desperate housewives
- mariah carey’s comeback
- the movie crash
- houston’s hospitality to the hurricane victims
- sienna miller’s new do
how was 2005 for you?
as much as i want to attend the trunk show of jade jagger’s (with a special appearance of her mighty self - closest thing i could be to mick) jewelry line with garrard at houston’s chic boutique, mix, during my lunch break - i will be nowhere near that place tomorrow. why? it’s because of the hundred and one things i need to do for the office :
8:00 am - meeting with the office staff for a formal briefing on what could be potential changes that still need to be implented as i joined on board
10:00 am - meeting with website developers to create the clinic’s official website
11:00 am - meeting with sales rep for radio station to get rates on radio ads
1:30 pm - meeting with dr. a. lim to introduce ben’s practice to their office
sometime between 3:00 - 5:00 pm - complete all pending insurance claims that need to be submitted and mailed. we still have yet to upgrade to electronic billing soon, as soon as everyone’s gotten the hang of using the electronic medical record tablet and billing software.
and i thought i can go home early on fridays………nice try.
