that downtown store of accessory heaven

remember when i talked about that little store of accessories in downtown? the place that's like a pandora's box, it always ends up hurting my wallet every time i visit. well, my young and stylish agents found out about it and ever since, i've been finding myself oddly surprised that i'm not the only one  wearing loads of rings or bangles. here are just a few of their amazing picks that i seriously covet:

this is not found in that accessory store but another style item one of my agents have. so bohemian. so me and i wish i could have it as my own. (to the owner, if you're reading this --- you should have given this to me! LOL)

anyway, it's weird that i began  my life as a call center supervisor around  the same age as my agents now. i was roughly 22 and was as immature and hot-headed as can be. it has been almost 6 years since then and boy is it weird to browse through an agent directory with birth dates as late as the time i was already in 1st grade and busy watching ninja turtles or the original x-men cartoon series. just thinking about how young they are and how i used to be in their place makes me feel all wrinkly inside. is it obvious in these photos below? or i still belong? LOL. 

all photos were taken at our work place where it's summer every friday. ♥

blog full of introductions

first introduction: yes, $2 dresses are cool..but hey, i live in the Philippines and $2 is still PHP90 and that can already buy someone a meal. so i present to you my PHP10 dress. something i scoured from our local market trip months ago. it needed a bit of fixing as the neckline's threads were loose but with the help of basic sewing skills learned from years in an all-girls school, i managed to sew the neckline back. aside from the dress being multi-colored and floral, my most favorite part is that it's a tent dress and can be adjusted using the thin strings attached on it. forgiving. very forgiving -- especially for a girl who has gained so much weight from the two trips she's been on..haha!

second introduction: F-R-I-N-G-E! i need it in my life right now. every time i say that when we were shopping in Bangkok, my mom and sister would laugh and roll their eyes. oh well, i'm shallow like that. since i couldn't find a fringe bag, i settled for this awesome vest instead. oooh, i'm so excited to pair this with floral and printed sun dresses and maxi skirts and swimsuits. summer is here!

third introduction: my gecko ring. my gecko love. my sister was baffled at how i can love such weird accessories as last year, i also went ballistic over my fox ring but for me, the weirder the better. i've been finding reasons to wear this for days now and i've been finding myself just staring at it, even over a stop light as i'm driving and imagining that it's a real gecko on my finger. yes, i'm weird like that too. *smirk*

ps. i threatened to disconnect my internet connection and when i got home from the service center, my internet suddenly worked fine.tsk tsk. hope this is the fix they promised.

floral dress - thrifted

fringe vest - platinum mall, bangkok

nude suede wedge booties - gold dot

layered coin necklace - platinum mall, bangkok

layered chain necklace - carbon find

stacks of bangles - carbon finds

gecko ring | turquoise ring - platinum mall, bangkok

leopard ring - carbon find

orange howlite ring - dane's giveaway win

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pandora's box don't tempt me

a few of us here in Cebu know of a place where you can find the cheapest and cutest accessories. it's tucked in a small street in downtown Cebu that not everyone knows about it. i will not divulge the location so to keep the place a secret. what i will divulge though is how the store has a wall filled with cute, pretty and charming rings. there are also racks of bangles, bracelets and necklaces that now also fill my dresser and my own wall.  every time i visit there or even just pass by the store, i can't resist buying a bunch. so i present to all of you the most recent additions to my collection:

isn't the cat + mouse ring just adorable? i woke up this morning planning my outfit around this ring. the ring just screamed nursery rhymes and i couldn't help but pick out this dainty lace and tulle skirt that my mom and i thrifted a week ago. of course, with the clearer skies today, i had to bring out my suede wedge booties too.

i vowed to myself though that i will only visit the store every other month. although the accessories costs only range from PHP10 - PHP150, buying a bunch can still do a good amount of damage to my wallet. so see you in two months, tempting accessories store. ♥

lace and tulle skirt - thrifted

egg white tank top - borrowed from sis

chambray top - thrifted

nude suede wedge booties - gold dot

studded green wide belt - borrowed from sis

eiffel tower + star necklace - carbon find

charm bracelet - carbon find

rings: cat + mouse | purse | bowtie - carbon finds

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worn to death

there were periods in my life where i'd choose a piece of clothing as my favorite and never stop wearing them until i wear them out or in the case of my pleated khakis, until my cousin called out my attention that i've always been wearing them. i think all of us can relate to this --- having a shirt or dress that tends go through the washer more than it should for its own sake. 

in the early years of grade school, i had this 'rosalinda' floral dress with cross straps at the back that i never stopped wearing, even to play chinese garter with friends in the neighborhood. in 5th - 6th grade, i had a pair of short overalls that i wore almost every week because it was just sooo comfortable and i loved styling it in different ways just as Tai, played by Brittany Murphy (R.I.P.), did in Clueless when she was at a party with Cher and she had nothing else to do but style her overalls. in high school, i wore the aforementioned pleated khaki pants to death --- with white tank tops or button-up shirts and my brown platforms (ala Spice Girls). i went through college and couldn't stop wearing my trusty old vintage tee that i thrifted which had vintage cars lined all over the front.

now i think this stripe tee with sequined pockets is going to be my new overused piece of clothing. i wore it on the last day in Bangkok and right after it went through the laundry, i had to wear it again for a meeting with an accessories designer. right now, it's sitting in my closet waiting to be worn again ---maybe next time with my new pleated pants.

ps. isn't mr. fox just adorable? i bought it for only 70 baht and i had to buy two items to get it at that price. imagine my panic when i couldn't find any other ring that fit me because the rest were all too big. good thing they considered a necklace as the other item.

striped tee with sequined pocket - platinum mall, bangkok

paper bag pleated skirt - thrifted

faux snake skin belt - borrowed from mom

grey flats with metallic details - gifted from big sister

bangles: gun-metal one - carbon find | braided beads - chatuchak, bangkok

round imprinted necklace - gifted from gelie

mr. fox ring - platinum mall, bangkok

salt and pepper to taste

details (clockwise): my hindi bangles and other intricate bracelets on a star candle holder, collection of dangling and chandelier earrings from college, cocktail rings by my big sister's influence and our drawer full of bangles from all over. 

just like food needs salt and pepper to taste, i need at least one accessory in my outfit to make it complete. ever since i can remember, i have always loved accessories -- from that small bow tie in kindergarten to the straw hat in elementary, scarves on my head in high school and huge dangling earrings in college to my bangles and rings now.

accessories for me pulls an outfit together - whether it be my layered bangles or long necklaces. i remember back in college, when my family and i discovered this street downtown selling raw materials for accessories like beads and wooden unpainted bangles. we went loco over it and bought so many as strings of beads cost only P5 - P50 per strand, depending on the quality.  we spent hours in our living room, making necklaces, bracelets or earrings and even my dad joined in on the fun. he's a dentist and is good with the pliers (as he does braces) so we'd ask him to shape us wires which we then use to hook in beads then make them as dangling or drop earrings. 

my dad was even part of our 'painted canvas bag' business in college. we asked him to sew us canvas bags and my little sister and i would paint on them by the customer's request. but -- that's another story..*wink*

how do you feel about accessories?