vacay high: cherry blossoms park

Over the next few months (too many photos, hard to sift through all!), I will be sharing some highlights of our recent vacation. This is the first of this mini-series: our trip to the Essex County Cherry Blossom Center.

I had never seen cherry blossoms before. My travel buddies and I were planning a trip to Japan 2 years ago but our work skeds conflicted with the uncertain cherry blossoms peak so we didn't get around to going. Little did I know I would witness their beauty during our trip to New Jersey.

Being surrounded by pink foliage was an incredibly pretty sight!

Quite surreal too that they will only be that way for a week or so and we were lucky enough to catch it! They hadn't completely peaked actually. See the buds that have not blossomed?

But it was breathtaking nevertheless.

Isabella gushed at how beautiful they were.

Noah, on the other hand, was busy climbing every single cherry blossom tree in the park.

I love how the branches cascaded downward so we had a lovely fort (which Noah calls a jail, hehe!) under the tree.

Such a pretty canopy, right?

There were also white cherry blossom trees...

... which the kids couldn't resist climbing.

And dark pink ones too.

But I much prefer the light pink ones.

Truly a captivating sight!

Photos are my own.

my pretend closet: L&S travel purse

Am still hung-over from our recent trip. And I realized I still haven't found the perfect travel purse. Over the years, I've experimented on my collection of purses - mostly the cross-body ones or the ones with handles long enough to hang from my shoulder. But none of them has proven to be the perfect travel purse. I brought my nylon Prada on our recent trip. It rained a couple of times so I was thankful for its water-resistant material. It was also lightweight and surprisingly roomy, allowing me to stuff 3 sets of hats, gloves & scarves, among my usual purse essentials. But searching for things inside it made me feel like a talent-less magician pulling out the oddest non-rabbit things from his hat. I must have unnecessarily panicked a million times, thinking my sunnies or camera was missing after wading through my bag's contents over and over. I did bring a bag organizer - used it during the flight to hold our passports, e-ticket, boarding passes, etc. But I felt it made my bag overly bulky that I took it out during our daily sight-seeing.

So I was ecstatic when I discovered the multiple compartments of the OG bag by Lo & Sons! It has a compartment for EVERYTHING!

Seriously. It has a padded pocket for a laptop, another padded pocket for a tablet, almost 10 other compartments (some zippered, some open)...

... including a pocket for shoes! Yes, shoes!

You can wear slip-on flats during the flight (so it's  easier to go through the x-ray inspection and more comfortable during the flight) then change into sneakers or oxfords with laces or heels when you land! I can also imagine packing a pair of heels in there while I go out & about during the day's sight-seeing then slip them on for dinner & drinks in the evening.

Watch this video of how you can pack all your carry-on essentials into the Lo & Sons OG bag.   

I also love the idea of the key leash! Is it obvious I dig through my purse often for my keys?

And what makes it the perfect purse for going through airports is its adjustable back panel that allows you to secure the bag over your trolley luggage's handle! 

And yes, its nylon material is water-resistant! No need to worry if it rains or if Shamu splashes water on you with his tail!

And despite the extreme functionality of this bag, it still looks stylish and chic! It isn't shown here but it also comes with a detachable messenger strap which I imagine will look effortlessly chic as the OG hangs from your shoulder and your arms can swing freely as you walk (vs. clipped like the leftmost photo below). 

I love that it's a structured bag. Slouchy bags just force you to dig through your purse to find your things (I talked about my Cole Haan crossbody here with several compartments that currently makes it the best-for-travel purse in my non-pretend closet. It is quite slouchy though so I still end up wading through the big compartments.). I also love how the OG's nylon material (and army green color) tone down the structured shape for casual travel days. 

Gosh, I so want to bring the army green one into my non-pretend closet, but sadly, it's still out of stock. The black one is in stock though and I am quite smitten with the lavender lining.

Plus, one of my fave blogs, http://homesuppliesset.blogspot.com/, is offering a 15% discount code in time for Mother's Day (you just need to have it shipped to a US address)!

But I really looove the army green version with the black leather trim (as you know from here, I am so drawn to this color but would prefer if the lining were pink as I posted here. Admittedly, the camel lining the army green OG actually comes with is pretty too)!

I've decided to sign up for the wait list for the slightly smaller OMG.

After all, I'm pretty tiny (5'1") and the OMG can also pack a whole lot of stuff!

Isn't it the perfect travel purse? 

Sadly, it has to stay in my pretend closet until it comes back in stock. Derek Lo of Lo & Sons did email that they "usually give a discount for those who are patient and wait". So for now, I will be patient and wait... :)

Photos from deliciouslyorganized and lo&sons.

Click here for previous posts from the My Pretend Closet series.   

my week of cuteness

My whole week last week was a mishmash of the cutest, most adorable things that made my heart go pitter-patter!

Day 1:

My niece was in the hospital for dehydration. :( But when we visited her, she was quite smiley, playing games on her iPad. I myself couldn't help but smile at the wallpaper in her room! Isn't this wallpaper the cutest?

Glad you're all well now Denise! :)

Day 2:

I was delighted to discover that Saizen Galleria now has a whole shelf of Sanrio stuff! Yes, Sanrio knick-knacks for PhP88!

I was sooooo tempted to buy the Little Twin Stars bags (that I have absolutely no use for). Awww... Kiki and Lala... Memories of my childhood...

Day 3:

Such cute colors all in one bangle! Reminds me of these yummy colors.

PhP280 at the Greenhills tiangge.

Day 4:

Ate with my friends L & T at this cute little restaurant, Stacy's, in Capitol Greenstreet in Capitol Hills.

The interiors were sooooo adorable!

Notice the pink rotary phone & fridge, the chalkboard panels & matroyshka print? Oh, happiness!

They actually had me at hello because that pink polka-dotted mug with popcorn, strawberry pretzels & marshmallows is what they greet patrons with. I was late for our lunch date and L & T resisted eating the sweet table treats just so I could see the pretty mug when I arrived. Such sweet friends, right? :)

I was also delighted to see my heart-shaped rice. :) Too bad I forgot to take photos of the striped paper straws that the drinks came with and the butter ball candies that came with the receipt. They really paid attention to the littlest details... like these ones...

The servers actually wore Cath Kidston aprons like those. And that picket-fence area is actually a play area for kids - with a mini garden set and toy bread in a gingham-lined basket. Is it obvious I was smitten?

Day 5:

I was still gushing over Stacy's so I decided to write a post about it. But I couldn't remember the new name of the Capitol Hills complex where the resto belonged. So I googled it and stumbled upon Our Awesome Planet's review of Stacy's. He called the interiors "Heima-inspired" so naturally, I clicked on the link and found the website of the cutest store! Heima sells the most adorable things too (washi tapes included)!

I want the chalkboards in all colors (they also have it in a mustard-looking orange and a navy-looking blue gray)! And I loooove the subtle tiffany blue button-tufting & seat-piping peeking out from the gray T-shaped chair!

Day 6:

I trooped to Rustan's Shangri-la Tower for Dwell Studio's End of Season Sale.

I was never a big fan of pink, but I guess all the cute pinks this week got me so enamored by the pink version of my chocolate Madison Dots bag.

Day 7:

The Bitbit The Rabbit Plush Toys I ordered from Spinkie arrived! I bought them as gifts for 2 adorable babies.

But I secretly wanted to keep the plush toys for myself. Even through their plastic container, they looked so soft & cuddly.

Oh, it was such a delightful week! All these adorable things, as Heima perfectly put it, "made my senses smile & my heart flutter". Happiness!

Photos are my own and from Heima & Spinkie - edited on my iPhone with the free Instapic Frame/Collage app.

Oh, in case you didn't notice, the colored words throughout this post link to more happy, adorable things! Happy clicking! :)

a pink lake

Can you believe this is an actual lake? This pretty strawberry-milkshake-looking pink lake is Lake Retba in Senegal. Isn't it amazing?

The lake's extremely high salt content (1.5 times higher than the Dead Sea!) promotes the growth of a red microorganism that colors the water into this beautiful pink.

Salt collectors work long hours to harvest the salt. Before going into the water though, they have to coat their skin with shea butter for protection.

Here, microbiologist Bernard Oliver holds up a sample of the pink water.

Looks like pink grapefruit juice, right?

Isn't it so dramatic how the pink water meets the white shore? Such a majestic sight!

First discovered via blackeiffel. Photos from here, here and here.

Click here for a previous post on other pink things.

summing up this summer

The kids are back in school. Summer has officially ended. It was a great summer so I'm paying tribute to it via selections from the Accessorize Spring/Summer 2012 Lookbook (which you might spy in Accessorize shops in the malls of Manila today).

Let me start with this summer's colors... Spring's pastels especially seafoam green and baby pink from here, here, here and here. And black as Gwyneth Paltrow wore here.

It was also a great summer for my family.  

Isabella took advanced ICE-skating lessons. Among other summer activities like these, Noah created HANDMADE magic all summer (will post about this soon). Best of all, we went on so many road trips (though not in what looks like a VW Kombi in this lookbook) which led me to many captivating tunnels like the ones here.

And of course, I captured them all with my cam.

Yes, it was truly a wonderful summer!

Hope you had a great one too!

Photos from here. 

Color Obsession: tough pink

Of all the pastel hues, pink is usually at the bottom of my list. I'm not much of a fan of this soft, dainty color because I find it too saccharinely sweet for my personality. But lately, I've been drawn to sheer pinks. Or even really, really light pinks. 

I am drawn to baby pink dresses these days. The translucent pink drinks look so refreshing to me. And if I weren't allergic to nailpolish (see related post here), I'd be going for such sheer nails.

But I'd toughen up this soft, feminine hue somewhere else in my ensemble. Combining it with gold or silver hardware helps, I think.

But my favorite way to toughen up pink is by pairing it with olive green.

Let me leave you with my latest sheer pink discovery. I love it because it looks so purrretty in my bathroom.

And the best part is it's quite a tough pink because Neutrogena's Deep Clean technology effectively removes 99% of dirt, oil, impurities and dead skin cells. And with anti-oxidant pink grapefruit extracts, it helps stimulate healthy cell renewal. So it's not just purrretty for your bathroom, but also makes your skin purrretty and younger-looking too!

Photos from i'mjustsaying, pinkwallpaper, polkadotshoppingbag, polyvore and here. Polyvore picks are as follows: Reiss Kelly sequin top, Polo Ralph Lauren mill olive chinos, Alexander McQueen Skull leather belt, Mango two-tone pleated dress, Rigby dress, Barbour Gold Label devon quilt jacket, Diane Von Furstenberg Elena sunglasses.

Click here for previous posts from the Color Obsession series.  

spring color finds

Coincidentally, the colors of these pastel rings are the exact same colors of my recent Spring color finds!

Inspired by eyecandy here and still unable to shake my seafoam green obsession from here, I trotted to SM to find a seafoam green belt.

The one I found wasn't as pretty as I hoped. With its gray tinges, it wasn't as light & cheery as I wanted it to be.

But I found a lot of other belts in pretty spring colors!

And I was weak. I couldn't resist buying all 5 belts!

But it's okay because 3 of them cost just P149.75 each. The pale yellow one was even cheaper at P129.75 and the grayish-green one (the one I wasn't so happy with) was (ironically) the most expensive at P179.75. Still, not bad, right?

I also satisfied my seafoam green craving with this wallet that I got for only P499.75.

It puts a smile on my face every time I look inside my bag! :)

Loving my Spring color finds!

Photos are from acupofjo and my own - edited with pixlr.

Color Obsession: pink

Before National Breast Cancer Awareness Month ends, let me share with you some pretty images of pinkness.

Detected early, breast cancer is 98% curable. Yes, 98% curable. So have yourself checked today and every October after!

And since am on the subject, sharing this link from Harper's Bazaar on how to wear pink. My faves are Victoria Beckham's pink shift and the Mulberry pink satchel!

Photos from i'mjustsaying, a regular source of delightful pinkness, and sparklesandpretending.

Click here for previous posts from the Color Obsession series.

Color Obsession: easter colors

It started when I saw these whimsical frames here. Trisha of Playtime Break called them yummy easter colors. And while periwinkle has been my all-time favorite color (not to wear though), I seem to be gravitating towards these creamy (brights mixed with milk) colors since then. I seem to see them everywhere nowadays...

On washi tapes... Yes, am still obsessed (see related post here).

And even in the bags from the Prada Resort 2012 Collection...

As Trisha said, don't they look absolutely yummy?

Photos from playtimebreak, 101gramsofeyecandy and vogue.

Click here for previous posts from the Color Obsession series. Click here for a different post on the Prada Resort 2012 Collection.

Color Obsession: Neutrals & Brights

A pop of color always goes well with neutrals. But I think there are certain neutrals that look best with particular neons...

Neutrals NAVY and NUDE (see the post that inspired this color pairings post from eyecandy here) look perfect with bright ORANGE.

Neutrals NAVY and WHITE are elegant with bright GREEN.

Neutrals KHAKI and MUSTARD are stunning with bright PINK.

Here is where I beg to disagree with Bally though...

I think neon YELLOW is best matched with neutral GRAY.

Whether or not yellow is paired with black or gray, don't you love these awesome neutral + brights pairings?

Photos of the Bally-Rina (the name cracks me up!) collection from Bally. Photo of the woman in striped heels is from FromMeToYou. Photo of the striped heel shoes I've been eyeing from Aldo. And the gray + neon photo is from 101gramsofeyecandy.

some polka dots i spotted...

And since we're on the subject of men wearing pink...

What do you think? Does your man wear pink? Would you like him to?

Well, if mine did, I'd be stealing that gingham button-down! :)

Photos from i'm just saying.

Color Obsession: soft pink and lilac

Am gushing over the soft pinks and lilacs of these Central Park photos from From Me To You. Doesn't Central Park blossom so beautifully in the spring? I especially like the pink cape paired with black. So young and girly, yet very classy and elegant. Oh, and isn't the photo of that sweet elderly couple so endearing?

Whimsical Wednesday!

It's the middle of the workweek again! Time to reignite our souls with some unexpected playfulness: whimsical soles!

Have a whimsical Wednesday!

Photo credits: streetfsn via Creature Comforts