just... add it to the pile.

yet another pair of shoes to add to my collection. this is Poetic Licence and for $17 on what normally would have cost $100+ (thank you ebay!) i love these shoes!

on a completely unrelated note... my all time favorite chocolate splurge are chocolates from Richart! They make the cutest little square chocolates filled with a variety of flavors.. from common flavors like hazelnuts and almonds to interesting flavors like salted butter and the downright romantic and exotic like rose petals and jasmine (my two favorites). they were always my favorite surprise for valentines day, long ago... *sigh*

for v-day is a special set with an edible printed chocolate card :)

does the wanting ever stop?!!

so for 2007, i've decided i would like to transform my wardrobe, bit by bit. my style has always been clean, simple, and very body-conscious in the sense that i've figured out which parts of my body i like, and which parts i dislike. im short, so i like to wear clothes that make me appear taller -- rarely wear flats, ditched the cropped pants, stick to colors and cuts that elongate. my shoulders are pretty wide, compared to my non-existent hips (ive got a boy body :( ) so i stay away from boatnecks, strangely cut judy-jetson-esque cap sleeves, and top-heavy frills and ruffles. ive got no boobs so im ok with wearing low-cut tops, and scoop neck tops, which also makes my stumpy neck look longer... and so on. does the criticism ever end!?!

so anyways, back on point.. through all the efforts to mask and conceal every flaw that i've pinpointed, my wardrobe has become too predictable. and though i love my clothes dearly, and they have served me well, i've decided that a change of style is in order. i look at people who have similar body types as me.. weird, midgety, little-boned people... and decided that no matter how wide their shoulders may look, or how boyish their figures may be, how short their baggy pants make them look.. they still manage to look pretty cute! and maybe sometimes its not about looking like a super-chic supermodel, but having a fun sense of quirky style is something that one can strive for! anyways, im working on it...

meanwhile, i've decided i need more t-shirts. i never wear t-shirts. mostly because a lot of them are printed with stuff. and i dont like people reading my clothes... also, i can't wear normal t-shirts because they make my neck stumpy (once again!) but ive decided i really like these mark and estel tees... even if mary kate wears a whole lot of them... she's one of my "weird, midgety, little-boned people" muses. ha! weird..!

i love the funky cut on the hem of this tee

very "i borrowed this from the boy"

nice flare at the bottom

late posting!

6 unusual things about me:
1. I have an extreme dislike for stickers. Especially fruit stickers and price stickers. I will avoid sitting in a seat on the subway if there are any gross stickers on, or near, the seat. (People are gross!) But, I used to have a sticker collection when I was little...
2. I go to the movies just so I can order nachos. With jalapeno peppers. If they don't have any peppers, I most likely will not order nachos and will settle for popcorn instead.
3. I will refuse to go into a store, even if I really wanted to check it out, if there is no one in there. I hate being the only customer! No attention is bad, but so is too much... I swear I can feel them... staring at the back of head...
4. I don't like making phone calls when there are people around me. Especially if these are phone calls to clients, or people that I am unfamiliar with.
5. If I like a guy, I will not talk to him. At all. In fact, I will do everything I can to avoid him. If we do happen to talk, I will give him the impression that I am not interested at all. Even worse, I will make him feel like I really really dislike him. (I don't do this on purpose!!)
6. If I don't like a picture of me, I will photoshop it. Photoshop is my best friend :)

Over the weekend, went to the Daryl K sale. I actually had a list of 3 places I wanted to go that were having major sales, but in between meeting up with my friend Viv, and watching her get her eyebrows done at bloomies, and then getting a snack.. I never made it to the other two! It's never really worth going to these sales towards the end of the day anyway, all the good stuff is snatched up! And I wasnt in the mood to buy anything... besides the things I had already wanted to get, still obsessed in my mind. Picked up the Opening Ceremony coat on sunday instead!

(short sleeve wool coat)

I havent had very many great experiences with opening ceremony. Its a cute store and all, but all of the stuff in there is soo. freeaking. expensive! The first time I went there, it was because they were having a sample sale. Lets just say.. I found a lot of weird latex dresses, and a lot of pastel floral prints... weird stuff, man. The stuff that they're currently selling are a lot more wearable.. if you can pull the look off:

(green jumper; suspenders jumper; thermal ruffle leggings)

And i'm sorry for jumping around... I have to agree with everyone who posted a comment, the Rachel Roy dress is fantastic, i love it! But here is another idea...

(another possible v-day dress contender, L.A.M.B. corset dress)

girly girls

all hell has broken loose for restaurant week nyc is upon us!! monday officially marked the first restaurant week of 2007, and thank god for not going overboard... i've only planned on dining at one restaurant this week and it is tonight at Il Cantinori. Some of you may recognize this place from SATC, as the restaurant that Carrie was celebrating her 35th birthday. (i can't say the satc-dork in me didnt have anything to do with this plan... excited!)

in other news... this beyond-cute-venturing-into-sexy dress is from manoush.. perfect for the girly girl celebrating a girly valentines day! check out that big bow on the butt! if that doesnt get your attention.. what will? (must rent that buns of steel tape now...)

am loving this rachel roy dress:

pretty little prada--gadget

there's no way i could/should avoid posting this up... since its part of the name of my blog, theres no escaping! competing with the release of the iphone later this year is the prada/lg phone! im not completely sure exactly how i feel about either phone... they're both touchscreen and all and if i were a millionaire, hell ok! i'll take either one!, but... 1) i dont like getting techie/gadgets right when they come out. there are always crazy little bugs and kinks that need to be fixed. 2) this prada phone is just unnecessarily expensive. more than $700!

i think in terms of features, the iphone's still way more impressive. prada's just a little smaller and comes with a prada leather case. also heard that the prada phone is going to be sold in europe first, then asia, dont know for sure yet if they'll have it in the US.

i dont know why, its probably because im silly, but if someone asked me to spend $700 on a bag, or shoes, or a coat, i'd honestly consider it. but a phone? its only going to be replaced a year later or so when another sexy gadget comes out. it took me forever to decide to actually spend money on a new laptop to replace my 5 year old college one. i dont know. im conflicted. im not a very techie/gadgety person. but hey! if someone decides to surprise me with one of these phones, i'll love you forever :)

(images from engadget. she should probably take over this blog)

weekend update

i've promised myself many times over "i will not buy another pair of boots." i've got a pair of standard black leather stiletto heel boots, slouchy black suede stacked heel boots (which i havent even worn this season because... i cant find them!), zip-up pointy toe stiletto heels in both black and brown (these were cheapees... and also unlocatable...), versatile grey suede high heel boots, brown stacked heel boots, fluffy mukluks, tamara henriques polka dot wellies, burberry knit cuff rainboots.. and im only making a list of the knee-highs. as if having more boots than there are days in a week wasn't enough, there was a little voice in my head whispering... "you need a pair of flat heeled boots..." i've been battling it since day 1 of the a/w season, but yesterday, as i was "window-shopping" through soho, i bought these:

comfy, flat, and perfect for shopping in when my feet are still aching from stilettos the day before

now i want to buy this beret.. its funkily oversized and almost looks like im wearing a chef's hat... but its so cuute and perfect for those bad hair days!

patricia underwood

zero maria cornejo sale today! i want to buy this dress, but only if i can get a really good deal on it:

underoos!!

no real luck with finding a v-day dress yet, although i do have a lot of dresses that i currently own which i could wear... just have to get them taken in. alterations suck :( im too lazy, and then the clothes wind up sitting in my closet... untouched, unworn, completely wasted! so yes, i must do something about that. am currently thinking that i will wear my strapless L.A.M.B dress. will post up picture some other time.. meeting soon...

so as i was browsing yesterday, i found these two cuuuute little items... which look a lot like... underwear.

(bcbg)

(rosa cha bikini)

I would totally consider wearing the bcbg dress for vday but i dont want anyone to think i'd just stumbled out of my hotel room in my jammies and showed up at the bar, too lazy to change... and i love love LOVE the rosa cha bikini... so freakin pretty! their runway collection looks pretty hot!

alrighty.. off to meeting now!

that little kid in the diaper with the arrows might still be hibernating...

it's never to early to start planning for valentines day, right? i mean, what would we do with our lives if we didnt have little holidays and milestones to look forward to? to dress up for? haha, in the end, it always ends up as a great excuse to find that "perfect dress." i live my life and mark my memories outfit-by-outfit.

scene: on the 14th floor of the Ritz-Carlton, where one has a spectacular view of the sunset... and new jersey, taking place in the Rise Bar, is the Chocolate Bar, a decadent chocolate buffet sure to make Willy Wonka just the teeniest bit jealous, and me, extremely excited with the "bottomless champagne." i think i can hear my scale creaking...

outfit: TBD...

4-day work weeks are the way to go!

despite the chilly temperatures this past friday, i found myself eager to take my new topshop swing dress out for a test run. am currently loving this "trapeze" silhouette, and paired it with a pair of warm tights and my knee high leather boots. over it, i wore a similarly "flared-out-at-the-bottom" houndstooth sweater as a necessary precaution against the cold, and finally managed to squeeze my bundled up self into a knee length black wool coat, your typical coat -- a-line and fitted.

a mere couple of steps out on the street, i began to realize that the hem of my dress was slowly creeping up the sides of my legs and if it hadnt been for the knee-lengthedness of my coat, i wouldve been flashing my little part of the neighborhood, some cable-knit-butt. after several failed attempts at tugging and re-tugging the hemline down, i gave up, made sure my coat covered me at all times, and smiled like i was wearing the most butt covering dress of all time.

i realized what was creating the problem. unlike this new revival of an old-swing-dress trend, my coat was still stuck in the "fitted-streamline" era, and this combination of two completely contradictory silhouettes was creating the most uncomfortable situation i could possibly be in.

i think its fair to say, in this battle of trapeze vs. fitted, my poor dress was defeated, left in a crinkly wrinkly sad state after i got home that night. this opening ceremony coat, however, gives me hope! (and a reminder to leave room in my budget for elbow-length gloves...)

wow... so it snowed for all of 5 minutes before the sun and blue skies came out again. crazy weather! i got out of the subway station in brooklyn and it looked like the prequel to a blizzard. i sucked in and choked on a bunch of snowflakes before i remembered how to breathe again! by the time i had walked 2 avenues, it was gone.

why is it that after i've already bought a bunch of "maybes" that i find a bunch more "maybes"?? here is some more cute ski/snow stuff and this reminds me... i need a cute zip-up fleece!

droool... i love you stella mccartney <3

nice jackets from topshop, love how they are fitted looking. love the color on the left, and the assymetrical zipper on the right.

fleece!! also from topshop.

(psst.. they ship internationally now!!)

oh no, snow!

even though this nyc winter has been freakishly warm.. theres no avoiding the fact that it is that time of the season again... snowboarding/ski season. my least favorite thing to do. ever. i gave it a fair shot last year, when i went with a couple of friends to a place not too far from college. we even paid for a group lesson on the bunny slope. and after snowboarding down that slope a good couple of times, the only thing i mastered was.. the fall! i woke up the next morning with sore achey palms, barely able to lift myself out of bed. luckily my ghanian drumming class that night was cancelled!

like all shopaholics, i spent a good couple of weeks preparing my outfit for that trip, but eventually gave up looking for anything fantastic since i was away at school with no job and no spending money. i settled for an illfitting jacket at macy's and an even more ill fitting pair of snow pants from modell's. somehow i had managed to find the only pair of pants there that would fit me... and i looked like freakin jay-z on ice. the pants were way too baggy and the crotch came down to my knees! needless to say, i've got it stuffed away in a weekender someplace and refuse to let it see the light of day.

anyways, theres no avoiding it now. for the sake of setting aside some quality time to spend with my friends, i've agreed to go on a snowboarding/ski trip with them in february. which gives me some time to look for something to wear. i had my heart set on a pair of ski pants from Stella McCartney which fit me sooo perfectly. it was fitted, it was stylish, it made me feel like i had made plans to go to aspen with vicky beckham and we would be skiing simultaneously down a beautiful snow covered mountain while david beckham prepared hot chocolate for us back at the cabin. unfortunately, i have a somewhat different budget than the beckhams, and spending close to $500 on a pair of pants that i will be taking tumbles in doesnt seem too clever!

thank god for overstock.com. i was able to find less-than-frumpy looking snowboarding gear:

(betty rides, pinstripe jacket and pants!)

each piece was around 55-65 dollars and have a nice pinstripe print on them... i'll take anything other than the argyle or the paisley prints!

(close up of the print)

plus.. that means i'll have money left over for some super cute stella accessories like a matching glove, hat, and neckwarmer set!

p.s... i've gone crazy. i've photoshopped blythe to wear my snow outfit!

new years recap

new years was a success! no one passed out at The Park, no one puked all over the floor, no one lost anything important... and everyone made it through the countdown! *whew! its always so stressful to be the one who planned this stuff... i basically couldnt relax until we finally got our butts down at our table and the drinks were in our hands.

i probably stressed out the most trying to find my new years dress. i had originally ordered it online because it was on super duper sale, but then after a week of not receiving a confirmation email, i realized that it was already sold out in my size. :( but then i had a streak of good luck during which i found out that the label my dress was from was having a sample sale and they had the dress... but only one! bright and early the next morning, i was able to go pick it up! then i had to get it altered a little bit to fit properly, and that basically took a week and my dress wasnt done until the night before new years eve. cutting it close...!

here is a shot of my dress, from united bamboo:

i loved the unique draping on this dress. and the pretty layers of fabric!

instead of doing gold jewelry, i went for silver. i didnt want to look toooo gold. i bought these fan earrings by rebecca lau, at a cute boutique called eva, over on mulberry street. i thought they were really cool... although one of my guy friends had made fun of it when i first showed him, saying that it looked like something out of the fifth element. whatever that means! they dont have an image of it on the website anymore, but a couple of similar looks in the series are these:

i chose one without all the dangly stuff, but was just one huge earring made up of a series of bent pieces of silver.

this was my outfit!:

p.s. are there any blythe fans out there? i absolutely love her. especially the gina garan photos of her.. sooo beautiful! im so obsessed with blythe that i decided that i would love to own a doll that wore my clothes. basically, i want to turn myself into a blythe doll! and so i photoshopped blythe wearing my new years outfit. im strange... i know...

(blythe in: fendi, gucci, and marni)

(blythe in united bamboo!)