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.

ballz to the face

on any given day at my work, i look pretty worn out and bleh. some might say i have a hobo-esque quality to my outfits cuz i'm not much of a "dress up for work" kinda gal. i prefer using the few extra minutes in the morning with my dogs or to slam down that snooze button on my alarm clock JUST-ONE-LAST-TIME. looking runway ready is the LAST thing on my mind. besides, my line of work and the way i work requires comfy clothes, a pony tail, and a lot of coffee...make up and all that jazz just don't work for me when i work. besides, i wouldn't know what to do with my face anyways.

but recently, i found myself in a "make up for beginners" class taught by my engagement/wedding make up artist. i really wanted to support her cuz she's so good. besides, WHY NOT?!?! at my ripe old age of eighteen :0 , i really wanted to learn how to apply more stuff on my face than just eyeliner and lipstick. anyways, the class was super informative and highly inspirational. soon afterwards, i began jocking beauty products like an obsessed freak. OBSESSED.

the first product i started obsessing about was guerlain's meteorites. there are three shades and i bought the medium one, the teint beige. i felt an unexplainable attraction to their ballz.

[informational blurb] guerlain is a french perfume house that was founded in 1828 and was recently acquired by LVMH (aka louis vuitton moet hennessy, a luxury goods monster company that controls a lot of name brands out there like louis vuitton, marc jacobs, fendi, SEPHORA, etc...). it is a rather respected perfume and make up brand because of its long history and reputation.

beautiful, beautiful packaging. the thin embossed tin container is so freaking cute! i swear i thought about it for weeks and weeks before i ended up getting it since it was rather expensive and not quite justifiable for a makeup newb. but i loved that container and those dang ballz so much.....

anyways, people use these meteorites in different ways. some use it as a highlighter, some as an all over face powder which is how i prefer to use it. i just get a super fluffy powder brush and swish it around these ballz and then brush the powder over my face after my foundation. there's a slight glowy effect and if i stare into my 10x magnifying mirror, i can see a bit of shimmer. do i look magically gorgeous? no. but it sure is fun to swish that powder brush!

[informational blurb] each ball serves a purpose to cancel out discoloration in skin tone, reflect light, or add warmth. personally, i just love the floral scent, kinda like hugging an old white grandma.

so was the price justifiable? hmmm, probably not. but i like it and there are no retail regrets with this one.

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.

peace, dove, and rock and roll

one of the best things about tiffany & co is their ability to churn out modern, cute, and chic jewelry items on a consistent basis to keep you coming back for more. if you like to lurk on their online website, their jewelry tab has a sub tab labeled "new jewelry" and there's always new designs released or updated versions of the old ones. more times than not, their items are pretty dang cute and if you have no will power like, um...me, then you probably find yourself collecting a few more blue boxes then you'd like to admit. i blame them for knowing how to grab a girl by her balls....

after picking up my love bracelet, we went to tiffany to look for wedding bands and what do i see there...the paloma picasso rose gold dove on a rose gold chain! whether or not i was under the rose gold spell of my love bracelet or just giddy from being in a big girl's candy shop....it did not take me long to decide to make my vegas gift to myself a duo :)

one of the things tiffany does best is to create very fine, delicate necklaces for their pendants. this rose gold dove looks like it's taking flight off my neck and is the cutest thing ever.

whoo hoo done! shopping ban for the next year :( i promise?

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......

ENGAGED! say whut?!

seriously, my momma can't believe it either. for the longest time, she thought i was a lost cause, a spinster in the making because i never brought a boyfriend home. i would if they weren't so darn old school. with the older generation, dating is not part of their verbage so bringing home a boyfriend was an announcement to the world that marriage was imminent. like book a banquet hall ASAP and call all the uncles and aunts. so for the longest time, i didn't even indicate to my parents that i was even dating, until it got rather serious with the ex. to make a long, painful story short, let's just say that this is not my first engagement ring in my life, that i made a very painful but mature choice, and that things finally ended between me and the ex. i think my mom felt rather devastated for me. that in itself, was the hardest burden to bare.

i think for two years, my momma must have prayed rather hard for me because about a year ago, buddha finally answered her prayers and i started dating my boyfriend, now FIANCE :) he is a wonderful man, caring, kind, and considerate. he reminds me every day that loving someone can be effortless, drama free, and completely mature. i feel so content right now. so, so, content.

we knew we would eventually get married and last weekend, he proposed with the most beautiful tiffany engagement ring. ahh, the dude knows me so well! :)

i feel so, so blessed to have found a great partner in life. and to be spoiled with such a lovely engagement ring is like delicious cream cheese frosting on a spectacular red velvet cake. completely decadent!

being engaged makes me feel so nervous. i don't know if i can handle "wedding planning" when the easiest, most bagnatic thing to do would be to just run off to vegas and make it short, simple, and sweet. ack, but the parental units are involved and the initial convo we've had sounds like a full out chinese banquet to me. i'm thinking the wedding might be in 2011, after i'm offically done with my 2nd masters and we can save a penny or two. but till then, i'll continue to blog about the process, my other loves, and all the other stuff that makes this online outlet my escape route of choice when i need an escape.

*sigh* engaged. what an odd feeling it is. if you haven't already guessed, my momma is THRILLED. in fact, i think she likes my fiance more than she likes me! you should see the lunches she packs for him when we visit my parents on sunday. i know she's already counting down the days till i pop out her first grandkid. 2011 is not sitting well with her at all...to be continued!

lotus x 2

i cook. not top chef delicious, but good enough for you to possibly want seconds, lest you're a smart woman and know when to stop before your belly stretches your pants. i have yet to master that art myself, but i digress like i always do :)

my honey thinks i cook well, but i know he says that cuz i always shake my fist when i ask him what he thinks of my cooking. "it's delicious honey." "oh, i love eating your food." "this taste so good, i can eat it for all my meals." as you can tell, my honey is a keeper. he knows how to lie with a straight face.

as i hone my cooking skills, i've learned that when you cook, you can sometimes "fix" things that go wrong in the recipe. for instance, if you oversalt something, you might be able to add a little more of another ingredient to diffuse the saltiness. example, oversalt your mash potatoes, then add more mash potatoes! when i bought my baby alex lotus, it was a cooking experiment indeed. i had thought it looked really tiny and though cute on its own, i wanted to ADD something to it so that i can "fix" the look. my answer to that problem was to get ANOTHER LOTUS and a spacer ring and stack all three! then it will give me the presence i needed in a right hand ring.

i decided on a honey citrine asscher cut lotus. i REALLY adore asschers and this was the best fix i can get. i absolutely love the color of the citrine, but am a bit disappointed that i can't see the step cuts of the asscher clearly because the color is too dark :( no wonder these cuts work better with lighter gemstones or gaw gaw gawgeous diamonds. but the color of this ring is rather darling and i loves it so i am totally smitten by it.

the beautiful, beautiful lotus setting once again. every time i look at this setting, i fall in love....

and here it is worn with my rose gold rope ring. i'm using the rope ring as a spacer when i stack them all up....

like this!

NOW, i'm perfectly in love. i think the baby alex looks lovely next to the honey citrine. in fact, if my fingers were longer, i would stack another one and make it a threesome. in any case, just like cooking, i "fixed" it and it's 100% delicious.

lotus love

when i was studying abroad in hong kong during my last leg of undergrad studies at ucla (last leg meaning i could have graduated in 4 years even with my double major but decided to borrow another year's worth of money to study abroad and back pack through asia for the 5th year...ahh the loans...still paying for it, but exusey my tangent) i went to thailand during one of those many backpacking excursions. in a snapshot, thailand to me means street vendor eats, buddhism, hiking, almost drowning, and getting ripped off. yes, i experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly there. even though it was many, many years ago, i still have interesting, fond memories of it. so what does that have to do with what santa brought me from thailand?

haha, nothing except that this present to myself comes all the way from thailand, and specifically from chiang mai (which is possibly one of the most BEAUTIFUL locations in thailand). the seller makes these GORGEOUS lotus ring settings and when i first laid my eyes on them, i had to, i was compelled to, i was mandated from buddha to...purchase one for my growing jewelry collection. here is my teenie weenie itsy bitsy alexandrite in a yellow gold lotus setting. the color change is from green in natural light to either a dark blue or light purple depending on the artificial light in question.

it is really small, really small! look at the relation of this baby alex lotus to my super ginormous thumb nail! i must admit, for the price i paid for this baby alex ring, i was unpleasantly suprised by the size. well, live and learn.

no wonder i had to go buy this too after a few weeks of light consideration :) i love how santa just brings me more gifts.

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.