my trinity

so this is what i gifted myself last year. woot! a cartier trinity ring! i was already eyeing it when i got my love bracelet, but being the truly restrained person that i was, i stopped myself and came back two years later to retrieve what was fated to be mine :P pat on the back for showing restraint?

the trinity ring is an iconic cartier staple. it is made of three gold bands intertwined to form one ring. the rings must criss cross the correct way when worn or else it feels tight and uncomfortable, a neat little consequence for not having the rings perfectly aligned into a perfect circle. the basic trinity ring is made of three different colored golds (pink for love, yellow for fidelity and white for friendship) and is just plain gorgeous. i bought the trinity ring to specifically wear on my right pointer finger or my right middle finger. love it.

the one thing i learned about brand name jewelry is that the price ALWAYS go up, never down. so if you see something you like and have the means to purchase it without going into debt, then i always advise doing so sooner rather than later. because 2 years later, purchasing this baby meant dealing with a price hike which made me grrrrroowwl. oh wells, still love it and still on my finger baby!

so that was my bday gift to myself last year. this year, it will be even more fabulous. promise.

the golden legume

if jack, you know the dude with that overgrown beanstalk, was given this pretty golden legume instead of a handful of "magic" ones, i'm pretty sure he wouldn't have gotten in trouble with his momma. instead of tossing it out of her window wondering how her dumb son can trade a whole cow away for a handful of "magic" beans, i think she would have strung this shiny legume on a delicate gold chain just like this to wear around her thick neck...just like me. purty *sigh*

tucked away in that velvety envelope was my sweet gold elsa peretti bean pendant from tiffany & co. amongst all the necklaces i own, this necklace is the quintessential "every day"/ "most wearable" one due to its simplicity and daintiness. it goes with everything, gives your naked neck the right amount of presence, and best of all, it's as smooth as an...ahem, legume, which makes it soothing to rub as you ponder life's questions like "what should i order at starbucks?" or "does this dress make me look fat?"

i heard about the possibility of elsa peretti and tiffany & co parting ways here and here. how tragic! :( i think her designs are universally loved! they are understated, elegant, and i love, love, love the soft lines in her creations. the bean, open heart, and diamonds by the yard are a few of her most popular designs and her collection in general is a fave of mine at tiffs....it would be a shame to lose access to them.

if peretti's deal with tiffany dissolves, she MAY sell her designs through other vendors, but it's hard to think after 40 years that it would be the same to get them anywhere else but tiffany.*sigh* besides, tiffany has pretty great quality control on their products and that may not be the case with other vendors. just something to keep in mind if you were pondering a few elsa peretti pieces for a while now.

IF elsa breaks up with tiffany, i think i will bite the bullet and possibly purchase an open heart necklace or/and a diamonds by the yard. anyways, i never mind adding more robin blue boxed items to my collection so i really don't need much of an excuse...though this is a pretty good one i must say. :P

my gorgy goyard!

WARNING: really UGLY, huge, watermarks on my pics. i want to discourage resellers and scammers from using my authentic pics to scam. better to be safe than to unwittingly abet.

goyard was established in 1792 and is THE OLDEST parisian trunk maker. comparisons are usually made between goyard and louis vuitton because both make coated canvas bags as well as trunks...not to mention repetitive patterns and monograms. i personally prefer goyard because it's not as common and i'm definitely much more excited about the chevron pattern than the LV monogram.

i also made a 180 with my "NO to pricey canvas bags" stance. before goyard, i couldn't wrap my head around paying an exorbitant amount of money for something made out of hemp, linen, and cotton with a thick coat of shlack on it...frankly, i still can't, but i do enjoy goyard and how light it is! so effin' handy! i guess in some instances, you do eat your words...as long as i'm toting a hot bag while eating them i suppose :0

the only goyard bag of interest i had was the st. louis tote, a bag most similiar to the lv neverfull. the other goyard bag designs don't really interest me and to be honest, i still have a certain mental limit on what i want to spend on coated canvas and trust me, goyard prices are nothing to scoff at :/

pictures of st. louis totes that i got off the internet.

black and red bags are considered "stock" colors and are priced a few hundred dollars less than the orange, yellow, light blue, navy blue, green, and burgundy colors. bags that are GM (bigger) vs. PM (smaller) size are also priced differently. i originally thought i wanted the navy blue, but once i modeled it in the size that i wanted, i thought it looked really big on me. besides, i didn't think the extra cost warranted the pop color when i already have pop color bags in my bagdrobe. you should see my brain whirling away as i modeled the bags in the boutique.....

so this is what i got!

i got a black and tan st. louis goyard GM. WOOT! if you have super skinny arms, the pm size will be alright i think, as long as you don't carry much. but if you are a packer like me and tend to bring a ton of stuff: wallet, phone, dslr camera, a sweater/cardigan/scarf, and a water bottle, then the GM size is the way to go. i also like to be able to wear my bag on my shoulder so the longer handles of the GM makes it A LOT more comfortable. unfortunately, the PM sized handles were a tight fit for moi.

check out the cheap ole plastic wrapping on the handles. truth. it looks like something from chinatown. you would THINK they can wrap that part in felt or something right?!

the chevron design is my favorite part!

it's a really convenient shlep bag. roomy enough for everything and anything and hopefully, extremely durable even though i'm aware that the handles sometimes shows cracking or distress after a period of time. well, bags are meant to be used and loved....and this one, i loooooooove.

tiffany stars for my ears

after rocking itty bitty ruby studs that i got from my trip to thailand for over a decade now, i decided to finally upgrade my earlobes to something white and sparkly...my new tiffany diamond studs! woot!

they give just the right amount of sparkle and is pretty as heck when they peek through my hair. and since i don't like to change my earrings at all, these will be great earrings to rock 24/7 and will go well with any outfit, anytime, anywhere.

they will also be perfect for my wedding <3. yay, finally got my own set of sparkly stars to add to my jewelry collection.

everlasting love

10 years ago, i bought a lavender jade bracelet in hong kong. it was tight enough to fit my left wrist securely and it was meant to stay on forever...that is until forever lead me to a work retreat and a masseuse who asked me to take the jade bracelet off and then....it fell off the chair it was placed on! look at the crack! i never wore it again because cracked jade is considered bad luck and i didn't want to mess with my luck. it now sits in my closet lonely and broken-hearted.

since that fateful day, my beady eyes were always on the look out for a bracelet of some sort. i'm kind of enamored with the idea of semi-permanent jewelry but not wanting to invest in another crackable item like a jade bracelet, i went without until....i discovered the cartier love bracelet! full on metal and cute to boot? hell yeah! go ahead and try to crack that you big bad chair with gravity as its accomplice!

so once my birthday rolled around, and i completed my second masters, and passed my comps, i had enough reasons to go on a vegas trip to splurge on myself one last time before i funnel all my efforts and resources on our wedding. i purchased this pink gold, size 16 cartier love bracelet on my berfday and have happily worn it since then.

i really LOVE LOVE LOVE it. the best part is that the pink gold looks lovely against my skin tone AND i have no fear of losing it. since this baby is rather shiny, i've been extra cautious about not scratching it up. but it's inevitable that new things don't remain new forever and i say so because i discovered my first scratch this afternoon :( but like a good relationship, it should be better with time and i look forward to the formation of a lovely patina on my bracelet as i rock it old woman style for many, many years to come. *happy sigh*

*******background info*******
cartier created this "love bracelet" in 1969 to symbolize everlasting and faithful love because the bracelet is locked on with two screws that fits the bracelet intimately to your wrist. they even provide a gold plated screwdriver in your metal color to complete the package. traditionally, your lover locks the bracelet on you and possesses the screwdriver to the bracelet. but if you're an independent lady and appreciate jewelry for the aesthetic value of it like me, then lover or not, this bracelet is quite gorgeous on the wrist. oh hell yeah i would buy it again!

ok, so the love bracelet is in that box, then what's in THIS BOX?!

work bag for the work horse

for someone who spends so much money and time gawking at handbags, you would THINK i carry a rockin' HOT one to work...but alas, i don't. i carry a very modest, broken in black lesportsac nylon bag. i know...whut?! not only is it nylon and bleh looking, it's also ripping at the seams. shame on me, i KNOW! and i call myself bagnatic.....poser!

but you see, i can look rather homeless when i go to work; t-shirt, baggy jeans, flip flops during the summer if i can get away with it. my chanels and bottega would never do and honestly, i would have happily toted this broken in bag for another few hundred years to honor my homeless look, IF the ripped seam didn't cause my cell phone to fall out! for a few days, my phone was zappy and i was so MAD! ahhh! that's when the thought of replacing my pathetic lesportsac took root.

so flash forward a few months later and a few days of NO INTERNET and i was ripe, RIPE i tell yah to do some shopping damage since i was so bored out of my mind. so a harmless stroll through the mall led me to nordstrom which lead me to the handbag section and what do i see? the marc by marc jacobs dr. q hillier hobo in black!

PERFECT!

it is made of nice black pebbled leather which makes it durable and luscious (oh how i love leather bags!). the black color makes it less scratch prone and is big enough to house all my neccessities. the short handle and a detachable leather strap also allows me to tote it four different ways which i liked. not to mention it looks pretty cute and will be the perfect bag for me as i go straight to happy hour after a hard day's work.

messenger style with the bag towards my rump.

to the side using the long strap.

right up against my armpit when i carry it with the short handle.

and lastly on the crook of my arm (no modeling pic for that one). methinks it's the perfect purse to use when i carry it to work. i was about to go nutty and pick a colorful one, but i reminded myself that this is suppose to be a basic black bag for work so i reined my drag queen proclivities back in and settled for the black one. i just hope marc fits in my desk drawer when i get there. regardless, i am happy with my replacement. the nylon one will be kept around for hiking purposes. woot!

oh ruby :)

a friend once asked me if i remembered THE moment in which i knew that my fiance was "the one." do you? i responded with, "it wasn't ONE moment per se, but a series of moments that made it clear for me that he is the guy for me." how ironic then that one of those moments involved a chanel.

so to give you some background, if you've read some of my past blog entries, you might be aware that i've lusted after chanels since 2007. i even made a mention that "i would want to buy a black one to be practical, BUT i would also want to buy a red one out of LOVE. *tisk, tisk*"

well, since christmas of LAST YEAR (talk about holding out! muhhahhahaha) i've had my red chanel...everybody, i'd like you to meet RUBY, my newest and LAST chanel (i promise!!!).

ruby, you're gorgeous!

at the time that it came out for the 2009 cruise collection, ruby's color was the first red to come out in a long time in caviar leather (any chanel experts out there can correct me if i'm wrong). this red came out with a lot of buzz and you had to make sure that you knew a s.a. somewhere so they could lay dibs for you. since i knew a few s.a.'s in different places, when it came out, one of them in vegas called me and my finace (boyfriend at the time) actually OFFERED to drive me to the chanel boutique there so i can see it for myself and pick it up. omg, i thought that was so nice of him! i think most men would have rolled their eyes and told me to shut up, especially after only 2 MONTHS of dating! what a keeper right?!

so he drove me there and i went through my uber picky process of picking the best ruby of the bunch and i did. i brought her home and have enjoyed her gorgeousness since then.

my ass shot cuz you know you like it.

so a year later, chanel came out with ANOTHER red in their 2010 collection which is a much truer red than my ruby which has a darker, burgundy undertone (i kinda think that was their way of increasing sales cuz the economy was tanking by then and red was always an elusive chanel color). the 2010 red is HOT and wasn't available at chanel boutiques. you had to procur one at neiman's or saks if you had a hook up there. but at that point i already had decided to STOP. i think you can ALWAYS try to find a bigger and better one to top what you have, but the whole point is to know when enough is enough. so what i'm saying is, i think ruby is the bestest and she will grow old with me like all my other bags. her red color is elegant and fits my wardrobe color to the tee and you'll probably fall in love with her just like how i fell in love with her when you see ruby.

folks, i'm finally DONE with chanel i think. come on now, look at what i've already amassed. besides, i have a newfound obsession for jewelry since getting my engagement ring...hahhaha. it never ends, does it? as always, to be continued......

a latch key kid

many years ago when i was studying abroad in hong kong, i picked up a very fine, thin gold necklace with a gold heart pendant. i wore it that way for many years until i acquired a tiny gold key to go with it. people always asked me if it was symbolic for "a key to my heart," but naw, it's just two dainty pieces that looked cute together. but every since that first tiny key, i was hooked! i wanted to be a latch key kid!

when i saw that tiffany & co came out with a key collection, i really wanted to get one, but as you know, i was sidetracked and bought my tiffany diamond pendant instead. excercising self control only went as far a few months because when i went to vegas not too long ago, i KNEW i had to pay tiffany a visit, and i did.

i went in knowing that i wanted a gold key on a simple gold chain, but was COMPELETELY smitten by the super cute oval link chain! i bought a 30" chain because i liked the idea of wearing it long like this (a modified mr. t look):

and wearing it layered and short like this:

in my head, it seemed like a "deal" cuz it's a 2 in 1 look. anyways, i really love the necklace and am happy to add it to my growing jewelry family. it's so fun to be a girl!

stripping down

i've been to a male "strip joint" twice. once in las vegas with a bunch of my giddy girlfriends to check out "thunder from down under" and then to hollywood men for my friend's bachelorette party many years ago. both times, i felt CHEATED yah know. i always expected to see some shlong, but instead, there's a line-up of gayish looking long haired men reenacting some fat housewive's fantasy on stage. gyrating on a motorcycle? um, no thanks. shower scene with your speedo on? ack, nope, not feeling it. unlike the female stripping equivalent where's there titties galore and sometimes some bush, a male stripping show is just a long winded teaser....which leads me to the stripping of my tiffany box.

(cue the porn music...*bowchickabowow*)

"take it off baby... ow!"

"show me what you got in there! ow!"

"don't tease me baby...take it out and show me!"

"oh lord have mercy...you're hard like a rock!"

and it is....this is my mini tiffany diamond circlet pendant in platinum. harder than a rock and oh so delicious.

the end.

reunited and it feels so good

back in august 2008, i was in las vegas to attend a friend's bachelorette party. during down time, i would go shopping (it is imprinted in my genes girls and i won't deny it). a harmless stroll through fashion show mall lead me to neiman marcus which lead me to their small chanel store which lead me to another unneccessary chanel crush. what a vicious cycle this is!

oh my god, what do i see?! good gawd it's a navy blue lambskin wallet on a chain! soft, supple leather, glossy sheen, thin leather woven chain that reminds me of a pretty necklace. the best part is being able to wear it messenger style, but ultimately you can use it as a cluch or a shoulder bag as well. in that moment, i felt i NEEDED it, that life would be incomplete without it. crazy devil at work that's what this is.

but i resisted.

it was around the same time that i closed escrow on my house and needed to take care of some bills. so keeping in theme with my good girl with good credit image, i bid adieu to this lovely woc even though i got the s.a's number and even told him to put it on hold for me JUST IN CASE. ah, the games i play on myself. ultimately i left las vegas without this pretty little chanel.

fast forward two months later and i find myself at saks in beverly hills. another harmless walk over to neimans led me to the chanel counter which lead me to the same woc!! woot? is this like fate or something? is it?! i demand an answer! i saw it's twin sitting in the display case begging for me to tote it. once toted, it was clearly over. my sa had a brand new one in stock and i purchased it during their gift card promotions and took my new baby chanel home. i think the lesson here is to stop taking those harmless walks!

the chanel woc is small and is meant to replace your wallet because there's card slots as well as an inner compartment for loose change. it can fit a thin cell phone and a thin camera but that's about it. it's not a super practical bag, but most chanels aren't super practical anyways. come on now! why are you paying so much for a bag right....*bagnatic thinks about it*....it was lovely and i wanted to own it and now i do. i've used it several times now and it's a great little purse. ahhh, i love me some chanel!

my shoalin monk pose as i try to steady the camera and give you my modeling shot. ow!

finally!! the weaving is mine!

i think i've drooled about bottega veneta bags for quite a while now. since december 2007 to be exact. there's something seriously delicious when you touch one. so soft and buttery....and the weaving is simply divine. after visiting bottega veneta boutiques off and on for the past year and/or catching myself molesting the bags as i generally find myself doing when i come across one, i took the plunge and veered off the chanel-only-path and bought myself a bottega veneta ferro sloane! the color is a dark shimmering grey and the leather is absolutely delicious. the weaving allows for a variation of shimmering tones and visual texture so "grey" is not simply "grey." there is a darkness and lightness to it depending on the weaving and the way light hits it. it even has a suede interior!! holy shit! with time, the bag will slouch a bit to form to my body. i'm expecting quite an excellent hobo look. ahhh, it is a GORGEOUS bag indeed. i definitely see another bottega bag in my future....far future since i'm clearly smitten by this leather. the ferro sloane is 100% well made, scrumptious, and dearly loved as much as my chanels (oh gawd i sound like a freak).

the sloane has been put to use numerous times now. i think it would be a shame not to. it's been in hibernation due to the rain, but the gorgeous grey will be ready to use once the weather warms up a bit. i loves it a lot!

obligatory ass shot.

i never forgot you....

potsticker was right when she said:

"Don't tell me it's that wallet you returned at the Rodeo Drive Chanel Boutique."

she is partly right anyways...that's how she rolls..always being partly right. oh snap!

i did go to the chanel boutique looking for something but not specifically for the blue camellia wallet that i had returned in the past and which potsticker had guessed. but while i was waiting for the sa to get that "something else" for me to look at, she opened a drawer that housed the blue/grey camellia wallet. YES, i was lured again. it is such a BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL color with a super feminine pattern. the kind that makes you swoon a bit and you start thinking to yourself (well myself anyways), "ahhh, it is too pretty to pass up this time right?" i needed to re-evaluate my past decision especially since i know it's been sold out in most places.

so i asked to see if they had a virginal blue/grey camellia wallet in their stockroom and they did. but upon further inspection, i found a little white spot on the inside of the wallet (no bueno!)...and sadly, i still found the same issues with it. the lambskin is too delicate (i think i would baby it too much and it will still get all scratched up), there's not enough credit card slots, AND the bills don't lie flat in the bill slot. i feel this style wallet was not made for the american dollar. anyways, i already have my red prada and my orange colored chanel one...and my wee house for that matter. i guess TECHNICALLY, i don't need another wallet so i decided to pass. still regrettable, but i don't think i would have put it to good use.

however, because i LOVE this color and pattern so much, i decided to pick up a credit card holder in this design. it has 3 credit card slots and a slot in the middle to hold any folded up bills. it's a tad bigger than a regular credit card and i think it will make a great alternative to using a real sized wallet for golden deliciousness since she's a tad small herself. besides, i'm just going to fess up right now. i wanted to own a piece of this gorgeousness and buying a cc holder seems a lot more reasonable than a wallet that i would not use often.

isn't it gorgeous?!

chanel has nothing on this

i bought this. i loves it a lot. please click on the link and see what i've been doing with my free time.

http://myweehouse.blogspot.com/

so shady

here's what's in the box. whoo hoo! i know right? wtf did it take me so long to post? it wasn't a tease. i promise!! just been uber busy and tired out with some other time consuming obligations.

anyways, i saw these pair of sunglasses when i had bought my gold metallic reissue. i really thought they were great looking for my face (though my sis and a friend just thought they were OK). obviously, i tried on EVERY pair they had and these sunglasses truly fitted my asian face the best. it sat comfortably on my nose and it covered my eyebrows. i liked that a lot. i also liked the way the cc's looked on the side. pretentious? perhaps. i just thought it was a cute detail with a good fit. but after some pondering, i decided i couldn't buy it then and there. i WAS NOT about to walk away with a new bag AND some sunglasses. i thought that would be horrific for my wallet so i restrained myself....barely.

well, a few weeks went by and i returned. that's usually how long it takes for an idea to sit in and germinate. i immediately went to chanel to look for those sunnies. eh?! ALL GONE?! no way really? so from that period onwards, i looked at all the department stores, etc...that sold chanel sunnies and all the sales folks told me that the particular style i was looking for SOLD OUT and was DISCONTINUED. apparently, they fitted A LOT of faces, especially asian ones so they were one of the firsts to go. awww....

that was a few months ago. recently during a stroll through scp with my boiling crab splattered t-shirt, i dropped by the bloomies chanel to say "hi" to kazue. kazue wasn't there, but LOW and BEHOLD, what do i see there?! one pair of these sunnies left!!! i bet it was either a returned item or it was forgotten in the stock room. anyways, no pondering this time. i immediately bought them and have been rocking them since.

here's some modeling pics courtesy of afro ken. isn't he adorable?! the sunnies totally fit him as well.

and a profile shot. cute!

my golden ticket

ahhh…my golden bag. my bright, shiny golden bag! it must have been amazing when charlie bucket found his golden ticket wrapped up in his willy wonka chocolate bar. and for moi, it was just as amazing when my eyes landed on this metallic gold chanel reissue (the difference between a regular chanel flap and the reissue is the clasp and the chain strap. check out my previous post for more info. http://bagnatic.blogspot.com/2007/11/which-clasp-would-you-choose.html). oh my, what have i stumbled upon was my thought?! and why is it so damn shiny?! it was like god shone a bright light on this purse and i knew i had to have it. hahaha.

i had originally visited kazue over at scp bloomies because of this bag, the black caviar gst (grand shopping tote).

i liked totes and thought this would be a great chanel for everyday use. since kazue is super awesome, she had a lot of clients to deal with that day so as i patiently waited my turn to purchase the gst, i walked around the boutique and modeled some bags…alas, i modeled this gold reissue and a seed of “want” was sown. oh my gawd how it SHINED off my black shirt that day. it looks amazing against a solid colored outfit because the gold really pops! i really wanted the bag, but it seemed SO impractical and really expensive at the time. come on now, i should be practical and pick up the, well, practical black bag so i did. i went home that day with the black gst. it sat in my closet for a few weeks new and unused as i drooled over the gold reissue and decided what to do. oh, what to do, what to do *fingers tapping.*

now you know what i finally decided to do. the black gst was cute, but i thought it looked similar to jumbolicious, my jumbo flap. besides, it didn’t take my breath away quite the same way that the gold reissue did. not too long afterwards, i called kazue and asked her to hold the gold reissue for me. i went back to scp to return the gst and to purchase this golden bag. done deal.

my “golden ticket” still sits in my closet looking as golden and as lovely as ever. since i have 5 weddings coming up, there will definitely be 5 occasions to bring this golden beauty out for a spin. watch out for this bag as it makes an appearance at a wedding near you. i know my tastes may not run along the same path as yours, but goodness gracious, we all know when we love something and boy do i love this bag so very much. it is my lucky golden bag indeed.

as i delude myself into thinking my chanel collection is complete with one caviar flap bag, a gold reissue (2 super signature pieces. must have classics in ANY chanel bagdrobe), and my chanel wallet…might i say that bagnatic will be on a hiatus from procuring more bags? for the moment anyways, since i still need money to fund my drug habit (j/k).

hahhaha…i was shopping at target with my friend “j” and i saw a lovely silver piggy bank. i told her i should buy it so i can put money in there for my chanel fund. ahahhaha…sad :)

stay tuned for more covetous bag posts, but no purchases UNLESS there's an awesome sale ;)