LEGO HappyHoliplay Contest

I remember building rockets, spaceships, planes, cars and houses out of those small, colorful blocks with my older brother when we were kids, and being sad when I had to destroy them to make new things. Fine, LEGO blocks make me nostalgic! I'll cut to the chase before I get all weepy about how much I miss being a kid: LEGO is holding a contest and it's so easy to join. Simply build one of their Christmas-related items (using LEGO of course) and take a photo of the said item, remembering to relate the picture to what the item is. Good gosh, that took a while to type, so just head on the link below because I think my sinus problem is blocking my brain's capacity to work properly:  

LINK TO WINNING SOME LEGOOOOO!

Here's a video too:

I really, really hope you win!!! :)

Tally, Ho!

I loooove dogs, which is why I was ecstatic when Threadless held a dog hoodie design competition. I sent a total of 5 designs (2 of which did not go through) on the last day of submission because all these ideas just started pouring in about 7 hours before the end of the contest. I've been wanting to get published (is that the right word?) on Threadless ever since I started designing shirts for them, and lo and be hold, the one that finally made it was the very last design that I submitted, and which had taken the least amount of time and effort to make. Weird, right? I guess sometimes that's when genius really strikes, when you're pumped with adrenaline and your brain cells finally cooperate to provide you with a brilliant idea that's actually pretty simple and will resonate with more people than the complicated, carefully constructed ones that have been sitting in your mind for eons. Finally, here it is!

Original submission

What's even better is that they're currently on sale for only $24.99, slashed from their original price of $29.99. Please support Threadless (and me) by purchasing this hoodie! A (bit hoarse from a sore throat) shout out to all the people who helped me scratch this off of my bucket list by voting! Thank you for all the love, now I can recuperate in peace :)

<3,

Sick of being sick

Ugh, my throat is itching like CRAZY. It's weird because I've been feeling ok these past few days despite being sleep-deprived. Or maybe that's the cause of whatever it is I have, because I held up pretty well when I needed to (headed a short presentation of "It's A Wonderful Life" for SFC's Christmas party last Friday and attended meeting on Saturday morning) and just collapsed once my duties were done. Anyway, enough of the negativity and let's stick to the positive side of life!

I finally was able to wear my emerald-green reptile print pants yesterday, and debuted it with my flowy black top from New York and Co., a turquoise statement necklace from my cousin (the lovely Eliza from jewelboxballerina.com), black suede boots (worn here: Uneven Layers) and my trusty Dooney&Bourke black leather bag which I got from Poshmark for $50 (sweet!). The pants are pretty hard to style though, so I'll probably just stick to black, silver, tan, brown and dark blue tops. Maybe a good yellow jewel toned top? Hmm..

A Nighttime Conversation

For the 10 minute writing challenge on hitrecord.org, the theme is "Red"

Story: http://www.hitrecord.org/records/1063261
Illustration: "The Climber" http://www.hitrecord.org/records/1011952

"A Nighttime Conversation"

Red, red everywhere.

Her hair is splayed so beautifully on the pillow, her lips slightly parted in what appears to be the beginning of a smile. My body shudders at how perfect her perfection is, at the multiple images of her moonlit skin soaring through my mind. I nimbly comb my claws through her red, red hair. Gently I sniff it, the scent of strawberry wafting through the tiny slits that comprise my nose.

"Brother, do not wake her with your misplaced affection."

I click my teeth in protest, hundreds of sharp points clashing in tiny successions. "She is OURS. You may have the better share of our brain, but I have better eyesight and reflexes than you, so do not boss me around." My tiny chest tendrils wiggle in excitement, unmasking my eagerness to show off.

"We have to do this quickly, or we will starve for an entire year again."

"Yes, yes, I will move in haste."

We position our bodies so that we are almost encircling her, our tendrils growing and extending and waving in unison towards her. This is the part that I loathe, but I can't do anything about it. We crawlers need blood, youthful blood to survive, to help us see in the dark, to power our hungry muscles so we can move with extreme agility. I drown in her beauty as we close in.

Red, red, lovely red everywhere.

Love Songs

Preoccupied with love songs lately. Must be due to the fact that I'll be seeing him in less than a month.

For me, a good love song:
-makes my heart aspire to be a gymnast and do tiny somersaults
-makes me press the repeat button because I can't get enough of it (although if I am going through a difficult time and it's a depressing song, I would listen to it once and move on to other, less unhappy songs. Or maybe just skip it altogether like I do to Adele songs. I love her voice, but goodness is she overplayed. Except for Skyfall, which I love because of the movie, which is superb, by the way!)
-has to be well-written
-has to be guitar or piano-driven
-is soulful

Examples:

Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart

Cycles

Cycles are always present in your life, unless you exert enough effort to end it or maybe change slowly. My bad habit is shopping. I do get really great deals but it all adds up in the end (in my defense, most of my recent purchases will be gifts for Christmas, and as a lot of people around me know or have noticed, giving gifts is one of my main love languages), which is why I decided to download an app to help me track my expenses and make me aware of how much I spend on non-essential purchases. Let's see how it goes! Wish me luck :)

On a side note, I am currently creating backups of my old Multiply account, and spotted this oddly familiar "rant":

I'm getting a bit scared of my spending habits. I've got all these shopping bags (containing clothes) stashed in my closet and over my crate of books, all of which I bought so "I can wear them during the Holidays". Eek! But all these sales keep cropping up everywhere I go, and I tend to remember the times in college when I pitied myself so much because I wasn't able to buy things I really, really wanted. Must. Stop. Buying. (And making excuses). Hay.

That is exactly how I feel right now. Oh cycle of being a spendthrift, I shall try to end you soon!

<3,

Cute and Warm Pajama Bottoms

Ugh, I am now dying of cuteness. I don't care if they make me look like a 15-year-old, I won't be wearing them out in public and I think they will be instant mood lifters whenever I look at them :) I loooove flannel and fleece pants, they're perfect for the cold weather or when the air conditioner's on full blast. I've had two pairs of flannel pants from Old Navy that have lasted me a long time. If you're going to be wearing them for extended periods, then they should at least be cute, right? The comfort factor's already there. I would rather wear these than those expensive track pants that have words on the bottom (I'm looking at you, Juicy and bebe!), which look weird when you walk in them.

 Old Navy - $8 fleece/flannel bottoms + more

Tiny sheep with tiny cups of hot chocolate!

Amazon $3.99 album sale!

One of the best deals out there, Amazon has a collection of new and recent albums for a mere $3.99 each. It's the album sales that keep singers/bands going, so show your support (and silently urge them to keep on cranking new music) by buying their album(s) :) If you have devices hooked on the Amazon mp3 app (I have both an ipod touch and a galaxy tablet), it's so easy to download an album after buying it, even more so if you set up "1-click" which will allow you to use your saved credit card and shipping information. So much easier to use than iTunes, if you ask me ;)

Here are my recent purchases and some that are still on my wish list (have to keep the Christmas shopping budget intact):

Black Friday Steals:

Imagine Dragons (recommended by my coworker, who shares my love for John Mayer)

Threadless Tee Sale!

$9.99 shirts over at Threadless.com down from their usual $20 price. Since I already spent some moolah on forever21 items (mostly gifts, OK? :P) because they have a 50% off deal on all sale items (hello, $6-$8 for a cute top?), here is my mini wishlist of threadless shirts that I find witty and/or cute! :) Hurry, sale ends TODAY!

Side note: I'm still procrastinating on whether to go over Old Navy or not, since I and my cousin will be hitting the outlet malls tomorrow, but the deals in store are awesome too. I'm trying not to spend too much but all these Black Friday sales are not helping AT ALL.

I love owls, I think they're interesting creatures - You're a Hoot

Chic After Dark

Whoa, super tired but happy after pinning 444 beautiful images of what I think best describe "Chic After Dark." This was for a contest hosted by Refinery29 and Estée Lauder, and the prize for the winning pinterest board is a 3-day trip to Paris. I am giddy just thinking about it :) Crossing my fingers! Lord, You know how I badly want to win this :) Below is a small sampling of my Chic After Dark pinterest board.

http://annstreetstudio.com/2012/10/08/le-bal-paris/

Emily + Ross Scarves

Came across this contest through twitter! Their designs are so pretty, I want everyone else to get a chance to win one of these babies :) See!

LA Scarf: http://www.emilyandross.com/filter/collections#Los-Angeles

I love all the tiny car details on the border, and when you actually wear it you can still see them! So cute :)

Day 5 of 21DaysofStyle

Outfit for today, my flowery blouse from Nordstrom and jeans from H&M plus black leather biker boots from Nine West. I don't have nice pictures because it gets dark pretty fast now that it's no longer daylight savings time, but the top I wore is really pretty in person as you can see in my outfit from months ago.

My "let's just get this over with because I'm tired" face for the requisite outfit photo. The theme for today is #jeans, though you can't really see my jeans :)) Would have made this outfit better by picking better shoes, accessories and cinching the waist with a belt.

Chloé Frames, Chocolate Truffles and Walk the Moon

I was so happy my frames finally arrived that I ate my last Champagne Truffle from Teuscher New York in celebration hahaha :) Gosh I should have taken a photo before I ate it! :c Anyway, you can buy them here: http://www.teuscherfifthavenue.com, get the mini ones, they're absolutely delicious!

 Nomnomnom! The champagne-infused center just melts and the chocolate shell is super smooth

I've been binging on chocolates lately, especially after I watched Romantics Anonymous, a beautiful, quirky French film about two introverts who share the love for chocolates. One of my favorite scenes is the one were they try some of their chocolate..mmm!

I wish I could be a chocolatier, but I'll probably just eat them all hahaha

Forever21's 21 Days of Style Instagram Challenge

F21 announced the 21 Days of Style contest (via Instagram) a couple of days ago, and so far I've revolved my outfits around the "item for the day" calendar they have:

 

If you plan on joining, integrate what is posted for the day into your look and post a photo of it on Instagram and tag the following: the item (ex. #reds), @Forever21 and #21daysofstyle.

Let's talk about.. Joseph Gordon-Levitt

photo courtesy of moviecultists.com

What is it with Joseph-Gordon Levitt? He may not be crowned the "world's sexiest man," but he's one of the few and far-between male celebrities whom most people like and respect (I did a poll at my workplace, and the general consensus was he is both good-looking and a good actor). I wonder where his appeal stems from - is it because he is non-threatening to guys due to his slight build (though he did bulk up for his role in Looper, so that may change things a bit) or his boyish/boy-next-door charm? Do you have your own reason(s)? Tell me in the comments section! Let's have a long discussion hahaha :) (I would like to think he is one of the best actors among that age bracket, and he doesn't come off as a know-it-all even if he really is smart. Or maybe it's the dimples and the way his eyes become so small when he smiles and he looks like a cute little kid? Kind of like my boyfriend minus the dimples haha :) )

By the way, he and his company, hitRecord, will start touring soon! Their first stop is at the Warner Theater in Washington DC on Nov. 13, I'll probably go :) To check out their other stops and to buy tickets, go here: http://www.hitrecord.org/tour

<3,

New York Pre-Sandy

Last Oct. 21&22, I and my friends drove to New York to see a band from our homeland, Eraserheads, perform their reunion concert (they were the kings of Filipino Rock during the 90s, having popularized the genre by penning their own songs on love, friends, driving and everything in between). It was all sorts of awesome despite the bad handling of the organizers, because we were there for the band and not for the hoopla around the band (although I must say, the $85 we paid should have been enough to cover decent lights, a better stage and bigger screens for those at the back + not blessed with height aka me) and the waves of nostalgia they brought with them. 

 The Erasherheads, fondly called the E-heads, back in their heyday

Un"sexy" But Cool Halloween Costume Ideas

I don't know where it stemmed from, but I've always been anti-super short skirts, or anything that shows too much skin. I don't like the constant tugging down or having to think about every movement you make (especially when sitting down, ugh!), which is why as much as I love skirts I make sure that they are a nice length and wear black cycling shorts too. Anyway ladies, here are my suggestions if you're looking for Halloween costumes that are still work appropriate and draw cool points from geeky/nostalgic people like moi.

(Raise your hands if you get slightly annoyed at all the "sexy" costumes the media pushes on us. We don't need those to look nice! Are they even comfortable since most of them are made of spandex?)

Carmen Sandiego - perfect for the cold weather!

Lost and Found

Posted on my hitRECord account :) (for this week's "Key" contest) http://www.hitrecord.org/records/992061

I was walking towards my apartment, thinking it was just another day. I got shouted at by my boss again this morning but it's no big deal. Everything goes wrong anyway, I said to myself, but there will be a time when the odds will finally be in my favor. So there I was, a normal guy, just walking and maybe whistling a little tune (I forget, sorry, but it was probably a guitar rift from one of Eric Clapton's old songs), when I kicked a small metal object across the hallway. Curious, I got my hands out of my pants pockets, kneeled down and gingerly picked it with my left. Standing up, I saw it was a silver key, with a big J carved into it. I wondered if it dropped out of it's unfortunate owner's pocket and if it was from any of my neighbors. J, j, j.. I tried to remember if I knew anyone around whose name starts with a J. There's old Mrs. Fitzpatrick in 102 with her collection of taxidermied animals (Peter the parrot, Gwynn the poodle and Flinty the fox. I loved Flinty, and one time she told me I could get him once she passes away. I replied that it's far off and could she not say that because she's like a grandmother to me), there's Barbara and her kids from 103 (Tommy, Finn and Kirk, I believe? He was born just a few weeks ago), and there's Layla. Layla, the girl I've liked ever since she moved into 104. Layla with her easy laugh and lopsided glasses. Layla, the girl I can barely talk to so I just smile and nod my head when I see her going out in the morning.

hitRECord

Just stumbled upon a new site - hitRECord, which encourages artists from all over the world to collaborate on projects and make awesome and original videos. I think I spent hours just going through them, and actually was able to make a text record based on their 10minute challenge (where they give you a word, which for this challenge was "repeat",

and you write continuously for 10minutes). I'm pretty proud of it, and it was very apt for me as I am going through an artistic rut. As a fellow contributor said, hitRECord is a procrastinator's nightmare. My username is juliebee, and here's my first textrecord:

http://www.hitrecord.org/records/988876

On Procrastination

Repeat after me: Stop procrastinating. Start doing. Nothing happens if you procrastinate, you just end up wasting your time, you end up doing nothing at all. You end up more frustrated than before because whatever you need to do still needs to be done, and now you have lesser time to do it. Want to be a blogger? Set aside time for blogging. A photographer? Take pictures, for crying out loud, look at websites for inspiration, don't let your camera gather dust in a corner! A writer? Get your pen and jot down your thoughts, interesting or not, they might be the next blockbuster movie for all we know. Don't listen to your pathetic excuses, they are just roadblocks. You hold the key to your future. Not anyone else, just YOU. Start doing. Stop mumbling. I REPEAT. DO. JUST DO. No excuses. No bumbling, no head-scratching, no filler activities that won't amount to anything. Make the most out of the time you have. Take control of your situation. Count how many times I mentioned the word YOU. Why does it matter? Because YOU create YOUR future. I know I'm repeating myself again, but until you remember that, until that is ingrained in you, you will never stop procrastinating, you will never get things done, you will never amount to anything other than a mediocre person who whines about how life sucks. Because YOU have been given all the abilities to be what you want to be. It's all a matter of harvesting those abilities and nurturing them. So I REPEAT. Stop procrastinating. Go. Go after it. Go after your dreams before it is too late. Go, go, go!

Coveting The Limited Sale Items

I LOVE THE LIMITED. They have some of the most amazing sales for really pretty blouses, and actually they HAVE A SALE. Yes! Right NOW! Here are the items that I really, really, really want but can't due to budget constraints (so I'm going to have to live vicariously through you, hehehe! Seriously though, I work in a really casual work environment, so as much as I want to own these I don't really see the need to buy them).

First off, the blouses: (the pictures don't have personal links so I will make a really rough collage)

The dresses:

And the link to their sale items: Beware, credit card!

Enjoy! :)

Love,

Forever21 Wish List

F21 is a go-to store for those of us who want to stay within budget and still be on-trend. But does being on a budget mean you have to compromise the quality of what you'll be buying? This is actually one of the reasons why I mostly buy from the clearance section of higher-end stores because at almost the same prices, you get better-quality goods that will last more than your cheaper (i.e. Forever21, Old Navy, H&M, Charlotte Russe, etc.) items ever will. Which is not to say that there is a complete lack of quality goods in those aforementioned stores, it just means that online shopping is a little dubious for those brands (in terms of sizing/fit and the "feel" of the material), and that I highly recommend you personally touch and see and critique every item (especially the seams, you don't want your item to need a repair after just 1 wash!) before handing over your hard-earned dollars. In my recent foray into Forever 21, these are the items that caught my eye and looked like they will last until you grow tired of them.

Faux Ostrich Leather Satchel (eggplant) - $32.80

On-trend ostrich-embossed faux leather, this bag will definitely take you places! It looks sturdy and comparable to the Rebecca Minkoff Ostrich MAC Bomb clutch that I got on sale for $80 (from $330!) at Nordstrom Rack. 

Rebecca Minkoff Ostrich MAC Bombe Clutch 

Bid on Jeffrey Campbells! Super cheap!

5 days to go until they're completely gone - a pair of Jeffrey Campbell Carmen pumps for only $45! They sell for $160 new. Gosh look at these babies! buy them here!

I have an online store again! :)

I used to sell my handmade polymer clay jewelry/sculpture on etsy (examples below):

Roaring Twenties

What I wore for my church group's USA conference saturday night party in LA. Sticking to the Great Gatsby/flapper theme, I borrowed a dress from my aunt that had a sequin and bead-sprinkled top part and a nice drop-waist silk bottom with sash. The feather fascinator was made by my lovely cousin Eliza from jewelboxballerina.com/ (check out her site!) while my shoes were an awesome steal at DSW (the Clearance section is one of my bffs! I scored these suede beauties for $30). I wish I could post more pictures but these were the only ones that I was able to get from my friend. My hair, cumbersome as it is, refused to be pinned into a more appropriate style (I tried to follow Lauren Conrad's flapper hair tutorial) and thus became more 40's than 20's. It was a fun style though, and I'm planning on rehashing it come Fall/Winter. All in all a lovely night, as can be glimpsed through my tired but happy face :)

 The banner I made for our sector (Northeastern USA), which is supposed to reflect the theme "Proclaim the Greatness of God." I conceptualized and made this on the day before the start of the conference. Phew, I've never dwelt on an art project in a looong time! Made with felt, felt, hot glue, and more felt! (Plus lots of patience and burns from the glue gun)

An Acknowledgment

I am slowly acknowledging the presence of Fall, as it slowly inches its way into the East Coast. Earlier today the temperature was at a low of 61F when I went to work, which I prepared for by wearing a thicker-than-usual cardigan over the new top I got from H&M (I love it's sheer upper part, plus it's simple and chic and not expensive! Hurrah for thrifty girls like me :) ). I realized I looked so plain once I got home, so I spiced things up by matching the color of my lipstick with my glasses and added some accessories. I figured I should wear my black maxi skirt and black platforms too if I wanted that lookbook.nu gothic girl vibe that's pretty popular (but I still am not into Fall completely, so I didn't do that). Worn with my spiked gray Zara flats which I got from my cousin last July. Sooo you think I can pull of an entirely goth-inspired look? What do you think? I might just do that soon :) (PS the Michael Kors jeans I'm wearing were from Nordstrom Rack, I got lucky and got them on sale for $15. Awesome, right?)

Pardon the scary look, I am no professional model! Hahaha.

Squeezing Summer!

The cold winds are arriving, so I’m trying to squeeze out all of my warm weather clothes! Of course I will still be using most of them in the coming months, but I want to spend what’s left of summer to display their individual beauty instead of being layered with other items (this particular top, though, would not be suitable for fall/winter). I still have dresses that have yet to see the light of day – I think I should start just dressing up the way I really want to (which is a little “extravagant”) instead of trying to blend in with jeans and tops most of the time, because in trying to blend in I tend to ignore a lot of my items. Do you do the same thing? Or are you bold enough to be as extravagant/glam as you want (if you do, I salute you, brave fellow fashion lover!)?

(Oh noes, it's getting colder! Time to release all thin-material clothes!)

Hair clip via jewelboxballerina.com

 Bag from Rebecca Minkoff (via Nordstrom)
Watch from Kenneth Cole
Top from H&M
Bangles from Forever21
Flower rings from Nordstrom
Heart ring from boyfriend
Belt from H&M
Skirt from a shop in Bethesda Row


<3,

 

An ode to.. shopping!

Hullo! First and foremost, I'm Julie, a simple yet zany 26 year old (as of this writing) woman *cringe* who loves fashion, books, the arts and various geeky subjects. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope that you like something or learn something whilst browsing through my blog :) I leave you with a hastily written (but, hopefully, a grin-eliciting) poem

Ode to Shopping

Whenever I am down and in the dumps
I drag my feet and leather bag towards your lovely building

My eyes grow wide, my heart starts palpitating
Once I spot the word "Clearance" among your items

"Be still, my heart," I softly say while I clutch my light pink wallet
I straighten my glasses and clear my throat, try not to look too excited

I remember my promise to myself, not to splurge too much
Find something for my mom, then myself if within my budget

'Tis such a good thing I work near a place that easily fulfills
My desire for sartorial things at heavily discounted prices

And so I zip, I scour, I flit amongst your aisles of shoes, and bags and clothes
And carry out triumphantly an armload of good "scores"

For an hour or two I forget what it was I was sulking about
Instead I smile and with big skips I skip into my car

<3, Julie