before the all-packed bliss

Don't be fooled by the all-packed enthusiasm of this of-dots-&-things post. Getting there was not easy...

First of all, 5 weeks is our longest vacation ever (Hehe, perks of not having a job to rush back to.)! 5 weeks worth of outfits is not easy to plan for! Especially since this grows exponentially when multiplied by the number of people in the family that I also have to pack for as you might recall from this married with children math!

Preparing for the 16C weather in California AND the 7C temp in New York meant slightly different sets of clothes. It doesn't help that I get cold easily and experienced getting a nosebleed from the cold air atop the Empire State Building in the middle of Spring a few years back. Because of this low tolerance for cold, I have accumulated thick & bulky wool knits & coats from previous Fall & Winter trips to the States. But I couldn't bring myself to pack them because I didn't like the idea of wearing Winter clothes in the Spring (Eep! I know, how shallow! But on that Spring trip of mine years ago, I was in a turtleneck sweater with layers and a trench coat beside a woman working on her tan in a bikini at Washington Square Park!) Plus, there's no free baggage check-in on United flights. So we had to pack light for NYC (hehe, cheapskate) and do away with my bulky wool.

It was overwhelming at first, planning which bags (and contents) would stay in California and which ones get brought to New York. Eventually though, I decided to divide our stuff into 3: the California-only stuff, the NYC-only stuff and the cross-country stuff. I stuffed as much NYC-only contents into one big suitcase - our only bag to be checked in (Woot woot! Success!).

The cross-country stuff got packed into a carry-on bag. And those that didn't fit into the big check-in bag were packed in a giant Le Sport Sac bag because I noticed from previous trips that they're more lenient with duffel bags versus carrry-on trolleys. Passengers with standard trolleys get asked to slip their bags into the allowable-dimensions-frame while a duffel so big, they could fit a person, gets through without so much as a glance from the airport folks.

I also decided to assume we will do laundry once during our 2-week West Coast stay and once during our 3-week East Coast stay. So instead of 5 weeks worth of outfits, we just needed to bring 7 days worth of clothes for California and 10 to 11 for New York. 

Eventually, I moved on from packing clothes (including pajamas, jackets, undies, hats, socks, slippers, shoes, belts & other accessories -- all x 3) to essentials like toiletries, gadget chargers, vitamins & emergency medicines, toys for Noah on the plane and pasalubong for US-based friends & family.

Yes, it was quite a challenge getting to the blissful all-packed state here. But now that we're done, I can hardly wait to land and start our fun 5-week adventure!

Photos from annnniegirl & deliciouslyorganized.

Click here for the of-dots-&-things version of this post.

my nighttime drive

Speaking of listening to the radio during drive-time here, there is this DJ that makes me want to just grab my bag and get out of my car. In fact, I've stopped listening to this particular radio station on my way home from work. Because I just couldn't stand the accent of their female DJ.

When it started about 3 months ago, even though her accent really bothered me, I kept listening to her every night that week. Oddly, it didn't occur to me to switch stations. I think it was because I felt there was something wrong with her pronounciation, but I couldn't tell what was wrong exactly. So I found myself repeating her pronounciation of certain words over and over to figure out what sounded so wrong.

And I swear, it's not because my standards are too high. I'm perfectly fine with barok Filipino-English. After hearing this DJ, I don't even mind the trying-hard-to-have-an-American-twang kind of Filipino-English. Because this girl just says things in a majorly wrong way.

For example, the word "debut". I wouldn't have minded hearing "day-byu" or "de-bu". But mixing it up and pronouncing it "de-byu" just gave me a migraine.

I later found out from a friend that this DJ is really hot-looking. Doesn't she know that radio is a medium for 'better-heard-than-seen' people? Those 'better-seen-than-heard' types like her belong on a visual medium like TV! As Joey of Friends said, "Radio, that's just for ugly people."

Photo from annnniegirl.

Click here for the of-dots-&-things version of this post - my morning drive. Click here for previous posts on my Friends addiction.

some unloved polka dots

I'm not sure why. But these posts here and here about the Louis Vuitton-Yayoi Kusama collaboration almost turned me against polka dots. It could be because there was an overdose of spots in the styling. The wall, the floor, the dress, the bangles, the bag, the shoes. Way too much for my taste.

It might be the overdose because the same ensemble is not as bad here.

But even on its own, this almost killed me. I know Louis Vuitton loves to vandalize its bags. And I have been okay with it, until now. I feel like a Vernis Lockit was vandalized - and not in a good way.

And while this LV scarf looks more intentionally vandalized than the Lockit, I actually like it. Maybe it's the irregularity of the dots that I am drawn to?

Versus the uniformity of dots in this other scarf - which sadly, I find painful to look at. :(

I really don't know why. Maybe it's because I only like subtle accents of dots. After all, I've always been delighted by polka dot lining on bags, wallets and coats. Operative word: lining. Not as the central print. Maybe that's why even as early as this very first post of mine on polka dots here, I had not found a wearable dotted dress.

I have to say though that I love this thin polka-dotted bangle. And while I kept everything yellow so far - for an objective comparison (so we're not swayed by color), I do love it in black & white as well.

Like I said, it almost turned me against polka dots. Almost, but not quite. I am still a fan of polka dots. Just the subtle, less conspicuous kind.

Photos from LVoe.

Click here for previous posts from the Some Polka Dots I Spotted series. Click here for previous posts from the Today, I Am Unloving... series.

i lost my Clipa...

I did. I lost my Clipa. :(  So I'm back to cradling my bag on my lap in restaurants. No, I don't leave it on the floor like this woman because if I did, ocmominmanila's voice would be screaming "bag-teria" in my head. Nor do I sling it over my chair's backrest for safety reasons. 

I also miss my Clipa in bathroom stalls, fitting rooms and theaters. Other bag hangers (search "bag hanger" on Google images if you don't know what I'm talking about) just don't measure up because they only work on tables. But a Clipa can hang from the hook on the door of public bathrooms and fitting rooms. And if the hook is missing or broken, you can always hang your Clipa over the door. For door-less and hook-less fitting rooms, you can sling your Clipa on the curtain-door rod or even the curtain-door's grommet. It can hang from the backrest of the seat in front of you in moviehouses and even school programs (even with monobloc chairs!). And in case you decide to cap off a shopping spree with a trip to the grocery, it even works to hang your paper bags of shopping loot on the pushcart handle. 

I loved my Clipa more because of its functionality. The chic, sleek design was just a bonus (though I've never worn it as a bangle as they said you could). My original Clipa was matte silver, which I still love. But I don't think I can cough up another P800 (Am I naive to think the Clipa price in Rustan's has remained the same in the past 2 years?) for exactly the same thing. Plus, if my silver one suddenly turns up (as most things do when you're not looking for them), at least I won't have 2 of the same Clipa. So am thinking of getting it in gold this time. After all, I have been drawn to gold a lot lately (see related post here).

Now, if only Rustan's still has it in stock...

Photos from here, here, here and annnniegirl.

  

married-with-children multiplication



When you get married and have children, many things get multiplied. Like the packing you need to do when you go on a family vacation. It becomes extra hard when the destination is somewhere cold.

I remember one family trip in December where I needed to plan for a top, top layer, bottoms, bottom layer (tights or socks or thermals), a jacket, cold accessories (gloves & scarf) and shoes for each of the 17 days of our trip x 3 people (me, Isabella and Noah - thank God the hubby can do his own packing!). I had a mighty excel file detailing the day, our itinerary and the different clothing categories (top, layer, bottom, jacket). 1 excel table x 3 people = 3 worksheets = my mighty excel file. Add to that the exponential amount of underwear plus pajama sets, toiletries, vitamins & emergency meds you also need to pack. Not to mention the fun pack of toys & games for the plane and road trips.

So this is what you're busy with days before you leave for the trip AND AGAIN, days before you head home.

The great thing is that you're allowed 2 big bags for each small kid. That's shopping-loot space multiplied!

Photos from Chance and fromainsleywithlove.

i just can't mix it up more

Since I started my main blog ofdotsnthings.blogspot.com, I've pushed myself to mix it up. It wasn't intuitive for me to mix warm colors with cool ones (see post on this here) or to wear prints with other prints (see post on this here). I've successfully resisted my ancient design sensibilities. I can now wear gray with camel, mix my silver watch with gold bangles and bronze bag hardware, even mix prints in the same color palette!

But these ensembles from the Prada Resort 2012 Collection, I am still not ready for. I cannot bring myself to mix hot pink, neon orange & apple green with navy & red.

I cannot even muster up the boldness to mix these pastels with the black & red purse! What about you? Can you mix it up this courageously?

Photos from vogue. 

Click here for a different post on the Prada Resort 2012 Collection.

Unpoetic Poetry

I've never been a lover of poetry. I prefer prose. But I do love Dr. Seuss' books as bedtime stories for my son because the rhyming makes it much more fun to read out loud.

I'm not much of a fiction-writer either. I tried when I first discovered Willow Love. I was enthralled by the poetic bits of stories she imagined from a single beautiful photograph. But when I got myself a photo to write about, I ended up spending 30 minutes staring at either the photo or a blank computer screen.

But just a few pages of The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus by Sonya Sones inspired me to push my boundaries and try again. This time, I tried to rhyme without being poetic. And this time, I tried to write fiction without being profound.

Here's my first attempt:

We both knew it was over;

even before this one:

this latest fight

about gum.

Does it mean something

when I look back

at all we've been through

And think...

Boy, I will really miss

(maybe a bit of his hugs)

But more, so much more,

borrowing his beautiful bags.

Will not win a Pulitzer, I know. But hey, the point is I pushed my boundaries. And that was really all I wanted to do. :)

Photos from theessentialist.

my fear of ostriches

I know it's odd. But of all the animals in the animal kingdom, ostriches scare me the most. They terrify me. Their bigness, their ugly black and white feathers (or is it fur?), their gigantic beady eyes. So you can imagine my horror when I saw these Louis Vuitton window displays.

I don't mind the ostrich eggs display.

But the ostrich? Especially this one with its neck traversing 2 whole windows!

With the ostrich's beady eyes staring at you. Creepy!

[shudder]

And anyway, don't they look prettier this way?

Vintage Hermes Mini Kelly

Kara Ross Lucis Ring Lizard & Seafoam Ostrich

I love the seafoam color peeking out. I would have preferred for the silver to be in the python material Kara Ross Lucis uses rather than in lizard.

 

Bulgari in olive ostrich

I know, this is circa-2008 on Halle Berry. But I just love the relaxed shape in the luxe skin. And the color! So effortlessly elegant!

Photos from thefashionprophet, worldofamici and purseblog.

dear girl who lets her boyfriend carry her purse

Thank you for showing me that chivalry is not dead - that gentlemen still exist in this age of equality of the sexes. I truly hope to raise such a well-mannered gentleman in my son. I hope he will grow up to be a man that opens doors for women and pulls their chairs.

Though could you draw the line at purses? It's just a waste of all the fitting you did when you bought your bag: does it look good on my wrist? My shoulder, my hand? My wrist again? My hand? My shoulder? Or even the fitting earlier that day when you chose that purse over all your other bags. Since you considered if it goes well with your outfit today and most likely didn't consider if it goes well with his, maybe you could refrain from having him carry this one thing. It just makes him look more genteel than gentlemanly. After all, even if says he wants to carry it, if he really wanted a purse, he would have bought one for himself.

But go ahead and let him carry everything else. :)

Enjoy your shopping weekend!

Photo from sparklesandpretending. 

what was she thinking?!

Why?! Why would you let a cigarette near your purse?! I get queasy (as you know from here) when the mall-entrance-guard touches mine with his drumstick. I get weak in the knees when it's raining and I need to run to my car hugging my bag. So what would possess this woman to open her bag with a lit cigarette in her hand?!

I would much rather hang my purses outside my house.

Okay, I'm exaggerating.

Photos from streetfsn via heritage and katespade via i'mjustsaying.

Click here for a post on more Celine Box Bags.