style inspiration: stripes + florals

Since I went on sabbatical, I've kinda lost my shopping mojo. I was used to a constant stream of trends that were appropriate for my pretty laidback office (It wasn't a business-attire type of office). I'm not sure if I just haven't gotten in the groove of casual clothes trends yet; since my shopping mojo has been wired for office clothes for years. But I haven't come across many new trends in my current daily uniform of shorts & shirts.

So these style pegs of mixing stripes & a floral print has been really inspiring. Will definitely try this out this week. I, and probably every single one of you, have a similar striped tee from H&M (yes, the one that comes in pairs, with a plain white tee). So all I need to do is pair it with floral shorts, scarf or shoes!

Ooohh, excited, style-wise, for the week ahead!

Photos from annnniegirl.

scrap-cycling

I moved from paper to digital scrapbooking 4 years ago but I still have a whole stash of pretty scrapbook paper. They're so pretty (and expensive) so I could never bare to just throw them out. They're too small (cardstock is too thick too) to be used as wrapping paper. So they're rotting away, albeit prettily, in one of my closets.

But maybe I can put those scraps to good use... As wall art...

As a clever shelf-turned-dollhouse, if Isabella were still a young child...

Or as pretty tiled wallpaper for my workspace.

It's perfect! We have the exact nook in between the closets in our room. It is currently used as a dresser. But my mom has been bugging me to cover up the mirror: "it's bad feng shui", she says. I never sit down and use the dresser as it is meant to be with my 10-second morning regimen anyway. So that nook might be of better use as a workstation. And prettified with my old scrapbook papers! Ooooh, I smell a new project brewing...

Photos from here, here, acupofjo and amischmashedlife (photo cropped to call attention to the wall instead of the labeled trash bins. Check out her post on this & other pretty workspaces here).

little things, big adventure

Not counting work, company benefits and co-worker friends, here are some of the little things I will miss about my old job:

1 My delight at P20 and P50 change because I immediately think, "Yay! Pang-toll!" (see related post here)

2 The happy colors in my bag from my receipt-organizing-system - I got these flat (non-gusseted) pouches from H&M. They come in seafoam green, dark salmon and cream. The green one contains receipts for reimbursement at the office like receipts from meetings at restos. The salmon one contains receipts of personal expenses. I have a cardstock divider in this pouch to separate receipts from credit card tape to get those freebies my card offers. The cream one holds my receipts for liquidation like gas and health expenses. I have to admit that I loved looking in my bag and seeing the pretty colors of my pouches.

3 The winter-cold office temperature especially during the BER months - an excuse to wear pretty coats and clothes made out of wool

4 The carpeted hallways that make it easy to wear 4-to-5-inch heels all day

5 The calming nighttime drive home along C6 - For some reason, I find the combination of the many lampposts on that highway, the absence of traffic and my iPod music playing from my car's speakers very soothing. Now that I won't be working, I imagine I won't be driving at night nor alone so much anymore.

I will miss (a lot of the big things but also) these little delightful things.

But I am certain there will be a different set of delightful little things as this big adventure begins.

Photos from pinkwallpaper and here via acupofjo.

It's time.

Today is my last day of work.

It became a choice between being a mother or a marketeer...

... and of course, the former won out.

Since I've been working 10-to-14-hour days for 16 years, I am looking forward to the gift of time that my new adventure will bring.

Time to enjoy a weekday meal with the kids - something I didn't have because I could barely make it home before bedtime, what more dinner?

Time to enjoy several chapters of a book in one sitting - rather than a few pages every night before bedtime.

Time to fix & organize the house and find out where the string of helpers, that have come and gone all these years, have tucked away our things.

Time to just enjoy a cup of coffee - without also thinking about work or also actually tapping away on my computer to finish a presentation or also reading a book to cram more me-activities in the rare half-hour me-time windows I was lucky to get.

Time to have lunch with my girlfriends (Who doesn't dream of being one of those 'ladies who lunch'? I often wondered with envy how there always seems to be so many of them during the few times I am at the mall on a weekday. It doesn't help that I had to file a vacation leave to be there that day.).

Time to learn something new - like maybe photography?

Time to travel without having to schedule it when there are the most holidays or take red-eye flights so I can leave after work or arrive in time for work the next day. 

Time to surf & blog & scrapbook & maybe even write a book.

Yes, I look forward to the time I will have on my hands starting tomorrow. But today, it's time to say goodbye to the life I've known for 16 years.

Photos from everythingfab, playtimebreak, pinkwallpaper, annnniegirl and fromainsleywithlove.

three of a kind

My friends K, C and I have very different fashion styles. K's style is edgy, structured and sleek. She wears a lot of blacks & neutrals - hardly ever in colors or patterns. C's style is romantic & feminine. She loves flouncy floral dresses and bows. And I guess I'm somewhere in between (K calls it creative classics). I go for effortless, classic shapes made fashion-forward with unusual detail - whether it be a large graphic print on a dress or my latest color fixation.

We're lucky we have such different styles because we work in the same office, in the same department, so the three of us going to work in the exact same clothes would be really weird (umm, uniform?)!

Since we shop together a lot, two of us would inevitably end up buying the same thing (because how can one not share a steal?). But in our years of shopping sprees, never did all three of us buy the exact same thing... Until two particular shopping trips to Zara this year.

It started out with a pair (correction, 3 pairs) of this mixed-color shoe.

Initially, we would text each other early in the morning if we were wearing what we started to call "our shoes" that day. But two weeks ago, the three of us got yet another pair of mixed-color shoes (which makes the quick text in the morning difficult since you have to say which pair you're talking about).

Seriously, how could any of us resist this yellow, python, black and tan shoe? Seriously!

Then we each got a different color of this pretty top with multiple peepholes along the collar.

Since we've relaxed on the morning warning texts, am not sure how big the chance is that all three of us will wear the exact same thing to work. Then again, I'm not worried. Our styles (and shapes, haha!) are so different, I'm sure the exact same thing will look very different on each of us.

Photos from annnniegirl and zara.

Click here for the first time I posted about these mixed-color shoes. And yes, the yellow python one was just in my pretend closet at that time. Not anymore! :)

my morning drive

It's been a sad, busy workweek. But my morning drive this week gave me tiny happiness boosters to fuel me throughout my long days at the office.

There were two particular delightful, albeit trivial, conversations on The Morning Rush with Chico, Delamar and Gino that made my day. 

The first was on the idea that it would be great if mosquitoes sucked fat instead of blood. Now, that would really be great, right?! I love how Gino got excited about the idea of a product called ON (natawa ako dito... opposite of OFF... get it? haha!). If that were true, boy, I'd slather ON all over my tummy! 

The second conversation was on how He-Man had Dora-the-Explorer's haircut. This really cracked me up!

Yes, I just love a delightful morning drive! 

Photo from annnniegirl.

Click here for the down-in-the-dots version of this post - my nighttime drive. Click here for previous posts on fatness.

i like charts

I do. I like charts. I love that they love charts in How I Met Your Mother.

At work, we do a lot of Business Reviews - we call them BRs. Most people hate preparing for such presentations to the big bosses because they're time-consuming, because you dig through & analyze so much data that you eventually have to turn into a story that makes them appreciate your strategy & your plan - basically, your point. I have to admit that, unlike most people, I like BRs. And one reason is because I like thinking of new charts that will communicate the data & the findings - basically, my message. I guess that's why I liked this book filled with charts.

But these next charts are the funniest charts I've ever seen!

LOL!

Yes, I like charts!

Have fun at work today!

Photos from here, here, here, here and karotitay.  

Click here for the down-in-the-dots version of this post.

Noah says...

I had an early meeting at the office and left the house before Noah woke up. So I got a call from him around mid-morning saying, "I need to go to the eye doctor because when I woke up, my up-eye was stuck to my down-eye."

He thought he needed to go to the eye doctor because he had muta! Ayayay! But I have to say I love how he called his eyelids up-eye and down-eye. Hahaha!

Photo from nyctaughtme.

Click here for previous posts from the Noah Says series.

Whimsical Wednesday!

Winnie the Pooh said "Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon".

And it's true! Balloons are just whimsical, colorful and happy.

Maybe because balloons remind us of our childhood.

And birthday parties.

Or theme park memories.

Or maybe because balloons inspire us to dream - to fly.

After all, a movie made us think it is possible.

And someone tried to prove it is.

Indeed, "Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon."

So as you drive to work today, imagine you have a bunch of balloons flying with the wind.

And have a whimsical Wednesday!

Photos from annnniegirl, polkadotshoppingbag, frommetoyou, here, here, here, here and here.

Click here for previous posts from the Whimsical Wednesday series. Click here and here for down-in-the-dots versions of this balloons post.

Whimsical Wednesday!

It's the middle of the workweek once again. Check out J.Crew's latest answers to a woman's daily morning question of "What am I going to wear to work today?"

While I totally love these work outfits (particularly the telegraph pencil skirt and the tailored 1035 suit), I think we should dress differently today. Because it is the most whimsical Wednesday of all... it's the rare leap-year-Wednesday! So wear some J.Crew glitter to work today...

Have a whimsical leap-year-Wednesday!

Photos from J.Crew.

Click here for previous posts from the Whimsical Wednesday series. 

Whimsical Wednesday!

We have locator boards at the office. They're tiny whiteboards in a silver frame stand. Whenever we're out of the office, we write down where we are with a whiteboard marker: "seminar" or "VL" (vacation leave) or "FGD" (focus group discussion) or "Sing" (for say, a meeting at our Singapore headquarters).

I got this nameplate from Lego and I use it as my locator board. I like how it brings some whimsy into my workplace. It's also great for when Noah's at the office. He has instant Lego bricks to play with instead of (egad!) running in the hallways!

I can't wait for the Christmas break to spell out "Christmas"! Meantime, have a whimsical Wednesday!

Photos from here and here.

Click here for previous posts from the Whimsical Wednesday series.

technology today & tomorrow

 A recent episode of How I Met Your Mother talked about how nowadays, the internet has everyone's wall of information.

Even dogs'! Haha!

Anyway, it reminded me of this video of Microsoft's vision of the future. It shows walls on the thinnest phones & laptops that integrate with the message board in your kitchen from thousands of miles away, with your airport car's window to show you the building of your meeting the next day, and with your hotel for your digital room key (no need to check in at the counter!). 

And since I am preparing a presentation for work right now, I love how you can copy something from your research to a slide in your presentation with a touch of your finger. I love how you can edit bar charts & add new variables and bars without having to input data - with just swiping your finger or dragging the bars with a stylus! I wish I could do this now with my presentation.

Photos are screencaptures of the HIMYM episode while it was playing on my VLC Player. This is soooo cool... You just need to pause the video at the shot you want to capture, click on Video on the toolbar then on Snapshot. This gives you a high definition screenshot! How's that for the technology of today?