"Coz a little bit of summer's what the whole year's all about"

The title above is a line from Wildfire, one of John Mayer's songs from his new album Paradise Valley. And how true it is for me - Summer's the season I look forward to the most because it's when I get to do a lot of activities unhindered by the bone-chilling cold winds of Fall and Winter. Come those seasons, I'll retreat into my little nest again and become a temporary hermit who only comes out for work, Singles for Christ gatherings, babysitting and Pho noodles. Summer, oh Summer, how I love thee! Two weeks from now I'll be flying to LA to see my family after a year of missing them (my little bro grew so much taller, it'll be harder to give him noogies now :c ), hopefully the weather will be kind and grant us a sunny mini-vacation in San Diego. I can't contain my excitement <3 

I wore the outfit below to Mass this afternoon. I've had the dress from Old Navy for three years already, and even after being worn numerous times it's held up quite well (shopping tip: always check the seams to see if they're well-made, or else your garment will need some repairs after merely one wash). It's such a bargain considering I got it from the Clearance section! Guys and gals, you're better off buying sale items from reputable stores (e.g. Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, J. Crew) if you want more bang for your buck because chances are the garments at trendier stores will not last long (although I have been lucky at times, but then that's it, just luck). Ok? Ok ;)

Have an awesome and blessed week ahead!

<3,

Floral ditsy dress - Old Navy

Black leather wedges - Aerosoles

Tortoiseshell watch - Relic

Black leather sling bag - Coach

Black floppy summer hat - Collectioneighteen

Outfits, videos and a threadless design

Exciting news guys and gals, my latest design for Threadless is up for scoring! Be a dear and vote for it here <3

Astro Basketball

Growing up, I remember watching a lot of basketball games with my father on our small tv and cheering with him even if I had no idea what was going on, seeing him play in his former company's league (I think he was an MVP a couple of times too? I need to verify this, though, but I'm pretty sure that despite the height disadvantage, he was a great player :) ), and in later years seeing him transition into coaching teams in my youth group, Youth For Christ. That was his other passion, aside from serving in Couples For Christ and jamming on his guitar during lazy Saturdays. Which is maybe the reason why, as "un-sporty" as I am (soccer and wall climbing being the only ones that I really like), I can tolerate watching basketball a lot more than watching football, and thus understand all the hype surrounding that particular game. The design above is a wink to my dad's love for basketball and a nod to one of my many childhood obsessions (I used to reread one particular book on Space during summer vacations). I hope you like it enough to give it a five :) And oh, an interesting tidbit: I asked my older brother to sketch it for me after describing in detail how I wanted it to look like, and he got it 100%! Awesome :D

Here's my outfit for today, in celebration of the uncannily warm weather we're having. Huzzah! I am so ready to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom on Wednesday ^_^

Button-down shirt: Halogen (similar shirt from Jones New York here)

Pants with belt: H&M (I will start collecting these, they're easily one of my dressiest and comfiest pair of pants!)

Leather bag: Cole Haan's Daisy Triangle Tote

Dressing room: Nordstrom Rack (I was returning an item that I intended to use for a contest and saw an opportunity to take an outfit picture hehehe)

Flats: Calvin Klein (my favorite pair, previously mentioned here)

Necklace: Burlington

Here's a closeup of the necklace, which I absolutely adore:

It's a chain of five pearl flowers, each with a rhinestone cluster in the middle - perfect for spring!

Drooling over..

Beautiful, white leather bags. Just because.

white-hot by white-lily featuring a zipper bag

Kmart Wish List

(I just realized that a lot of items I posted on Poylvore got reposted here! LOL sorry I'm such a newbie, but I cleared them all up.)

As most of you know, I'm a bargain shopper. I set limits on how much an item should cost - I will not pay more than $25 for jeans (unless they make me feel like I've got Jessica Alba's calves) or more than $20 for a top (unless it is extremely versatile, for a special occasion, or a classic). If you spot me in a higher-end boutique, I'll most likely be in the Sale/Clearance rack or if I'm not, I'm probably mentally taking pictures of items I like so I can find similar pieces with more reasonable price tags in other stores. So imagine my delight when I became a finalist for Kmart's "Money Can't Buy Style" fashion contest about 1 1/2 years ago, where I had the chance to create my best Kmart ensemble and wear it while on a Skype video conference with a fashion photographer.

All-grey, all-Kmart (except for the shoes - they're Hugo Boss ;) )

On Hobbit Holes + Spring Weather At Last!

I came across two adorable LOTR-themed miniatures:

1. Click here to go to the original blog post detailing how the bonsai tree in the picture below was made

Three things I love: an LOTR reference (Bag End, Bilbo Baggins' home), a bonsai tree and miniature art!

 2. A miniature replica of Bag End lovingly made by a fan - click here for more pictures and details from the artist herself, Maddie Chambers

OMG look at those teensy things! I'm my mother's daughter, she loves miniature things as well

I don't remember exactly how I got into The Lord of the Rings, but I do know that it's partly due to Harry Potter (my first foray into fantasy) and my penchant for reading books before they get turned into movies (or in this case, trilogies). Thank God that my best friend in high school was also into LOTR, I had someone to talk to and obsess about it with- at one point we both were writing in our respective diaries journals in Elvish. In case you want to know, she was better at it than I was (writing in Elvish), because between us she is more gifted in the arts. Not that it mattered to me, I was just glad that I wasn't alone in my LOTR fandom and with dreaming of having pointy ears (not hairy feet hahaha).

Spring RTW 2013

I curated my favorite looks for Spring 2013, in the hopes of getting inspired by them once Spring actually arrives. Click on the pictures to see them in a higher resolution. Enjoy! :) (Images c/o style.com)

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,