TBMD

Bf and I took a trip up to New York this past weekend for some shopping and good food. Like our past NYC trips, we had a packed schedule, except this time, we completely lost track of time. We didn't even get to eat/visit half the things on our list! Joe Fresh, I'll have to catch you next time.

My brain's still recovering, but hopefully I'll have a couple shoe and clothing reviews coming up this week. For now, an outfit from last week when the weather was noticeably cooler.

The part I miss most about apartment living is how the management office will sign and hold packages for its residents. For someone like me who orders off the Internet often, it's a treat not having to worry about packages sitting at my doorstep for hours. Sure, "often" is subjective, but when management asks, "Room number? Oh wait, 445 right?" upon recognizing me, yeah, it's a sign that I should probably cut back on this online ordering habit of mine *sheepish grin*

After moving (bye bye wonderful management office that I took for granted), I thought for sure this is the opportunity for me to stop cold turkey... until my bf's mom graciously offered us the use of her address. Poof, there goes my determination. After a few weeks of 1-2 packages per week arriving at her doorstep, she mentioned that she was surprised at the amount of packages addressed to me. I don't believe she meant it in any way other than a passing comment. She's just honestly surprised because she's always thought I was cheap/stingy/frugal when it comes to money. In return, I was surprised at her surprise.

I suppose my purchases are nobody's business but my own, but I've never felt the need to hide my spending. I prioritize and spend as I see fit. Along the same lines, I suppose I've never broadcasted my spending to others either (aside from this blog) because people will notice what they want to notice. So I figured this was an isolated incident of one person's perception of my spending. That is, until my own mother made a similar comment a few days later. She remarked that cameras are one of the rare items that my stingy self has no problem spending money on. Huh, once again, I was left surprised.

The reality is, I wouldn't say I spend more than the average person (most of my online orders are returned), but I'm also not cheap to the point where money has to be pried from my hands (those were the exact words my mom used, lol). So what do these two women see that I don't see myself? Then it hit me. They mostly see me in certain environments, ie: when we go out to eat. So it must be all the times where I stroll into restaurants in a sweatshirt and sneakers. I can't help it if I don't want to wear nicer clothes to (smelly) Asian restaurants. The grease sticks to you like second skin! I can already imagine the hefty dry cleaning bill if that happened. Okay, so maybe I am just a little bit on the cheap side.

Do you see your spending differently than how others perceive you?

Hosted by Megan @ Love live classy, Petite Fashion Challenge #15: Chic Pin-spiration has us finding a pic of an outfit we love on Pinterest, and re-creating it the best way possible!

My inspiration photo for this challenge is old-school J.Crew (surprise, surprise). I love how she wore the tie paired with a feminine color palette.

In my previous attempt at tie-wearing and tie-tying (which I've still yet to master), the size of the tie has been an issue for me. Aside from buying a skinnier tie, there's nothing I can do about the width. The length however, can be "fixed" by tucking inside the skirt. Why didn't I think of this before?!

I based my look on a similar color scheme while keeping the same key pieces (tie, shirt, sweater, and pencil skirt). This outfit is one that I may or may not have eventually figured out to wear together, but I'll take inspirations sooner rather than later.

Check out the other participants here.

I have to thank Kelly for introducing me to the art of hiding excess fabric from the front of a double-breasted trench -- by folding back and buttoning up the extra fabric. No more oh-so-casually pushing aside fabric as I walk.

Continuing with the experiment, I also swapped for a different belt a la Emma Watson for Burberry S/S 2010. As luck would have it, the width of the belt fits perfectly through the trench's belt loops and gives the outfit just a touch of military vibe.

For next time, I think I'll match the number of buttons down the front of the trench. It's not as noticeable at an angle, but from a frontal view, 4 on the left vs. 1 on the right does look a bit odd.

Trench wearers, do you have any other tips or suggestions for me to try?

My day started out with the potential to turn ugly. Thankfully it did a 180 and I was sporting this big ol' grin the rest of the day. Hope your day was less of a rollercoaster ride than mine. Happy Thursday!

In the previous post, I mentioned my surprise at this bag's smaller-than-expected size in person. Well, I'll have to semi-retract that statement. After arriving at work this morning, I couldn't figure out a way to store the bag in my usual cabinet without bending/twisting/deforming the handles (and this is coming from someone who enjoys a good puzzle). To save my coworkers from hearing more clanking noise (metal feet on bag + metal cabinet = that annoying coworker), I plopped it right next to my monitor. What a great sight to see whenever I took a break from work. The bright red color never failed to bring a smile to my face. #enjoyingthesmallthingsinlife

I heart J.Crew and their preppy items. They can do no wrong. The J.Crew Tillary Tote in canvas stripe (sold here) is the perfect example. Not long after Elle's review, five six of us came out of the closet, all saying we got bit by the bag bug. It's a wonderful circle of enablers we've got here, lol.

What drew me to the bag were the colors. All the regular-sized bags I own are solidly neutrals. White, gray, black, brown, I've got it all covered. I found the Tillary tote to contain the perfect mix of bold red that isn't overwhelming for someone who apparently is scared of an all-colored bag. The colors against the canvas texture makes it great for casual work environments and weekend use, both of which I plan on taking advantage of.
I won't go into details about the bag (see Elle's thorough review), but wanted to offer opinions on two issues that gave me pause: size and weight. The size was an initial concern of mine after seeing it on Vicky, but then I remembered I'm bigger than her. For anyone smaller than me, wear the bag like you own it; don't let it wear you. Elle warned me of the heavy weight, which Gigi measured at 2.8 lbs. I didn't have a scale handy, but my RM MAM felt heavier than 3 lbs, so I figured if I can handle that, I should be ok. I'll admit that I don't reach for my RM as often as I used to, because my Bal City is so much lighter.

In the end, I decided the bag was worth risking at final sale. It's much too pretty to pass up at $70. To my surprise, the size and weight weren't issues at all when I received the bag (time to start setting my expectations low from now on?) To sum it up, I simply adore it. Using a crude method of measurement by holding a bag in each hand, I would say the Tillary is a tad lighter in weight than my RM. Personally I think the bag looks best hand-held at the sides, but it also fits ok over-the-shoulder and at the crook of my arm. I already know I'll be reaching for this bag often, without a care to matching my outfit.
I also ordered the J.Crew Viv stripe flats in navy ivory, size 6 (sold here) because the bow and stripes combination had me at first sight. I love how proportioned the width of the bow looks with the pointed toe.

I ordered these in my usual size but found them to run at least 1/2 size small. My past experiences with J.Crew flats have always been true to size, but I should have expected sizing differences due to the pointed toe.

The flats are made of canvas material, similar (if not the same) as the Tillary tote. I can see them requiring a lot of upkeep as the white canvas would dirty easily. Due to the material used, the flats are quite stiff when worn and would need time to be broken in. I love the look, but these flats are definitely for fair weather use only. I'll be returning this pair because they're too small for me, but will be reconsidering if they make it to sale season.

Work's been keeping me pretty busy this week, but now I have a three day weekend to look forward to. Here's a "casual Friday" outfit to kick that off. Have a good weekend, everyone!

I envisioned finishing this outfit with brightly colored closed-toe (preferably suede) pumps. Unfortunately, the shoes as described do not exist in my closet, so I went with the next best thing. Dressy color or casual suede? Color won out after much debate. I figured the scarf dressed up the outfit a bit so the shoes don't look entirely out of place. I've been pulled away from pastels and towards brights this spring, so hopefully there will be more colorful outfits to come!

Beyonce's If I Were a Boy is stuck in my head. I can also credit the song for inspiring today's outfit of a navy blazer with cargos. If I were a boy, this would be my everyday uniform.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Unbeknownst to me until halfway through the day, I was walking around in dirty white pants. Not to gross anyone out, but they were big ol' patches on the back. I'm sure someone could've kindly told me earlier, but nope, I had to discover them for myself when I was having a vain moment -- checking myself out in the bathroom. Sigh. At least for once that paid off.

PS - I've finally updated my closet page up above.

When I was a child, my mom loved to buy frilly, over-the-top dresses with skirts that flounce. It didn't matter that her daughter would waste no time dirtying up her appearance, because girls should look like girls. I think the itchiness of the crinoline-like skirts left a traumatizing effect :( It wasn't until late into my teenage years did I begin to entertain the thought of voluntarily wearing a dress (skipping the itchiness please).

I guess you could say I'm the most surprised when I realized that of all my dresses, a lacy/crochet one is my favorite. Mom would be so proud. I've worn the Ann Taylor vintage floral dress to death since purchasing this month last year. Now a year later, I've compiled some of my favorite looks to show how versatile a white dress can be.